Crime & Courts

Bethel woman given 2 years in jail for heroin shot that killed her father

A 35-year-old Bethel woman was sentenced to two years in jail Friday after she gave her father a shot of heroin that led to his death, said a statement from the District Attorney's Office.

Shannon Cooke was living at her father's Anchorage apartment on Sept. 29, 2014, when he asked her to inject him with heroin. Her father, 56-year-old Thomas Tungwenuk Jr., had never used heroin before. After the injection, he had difficulty breathing and chest pains. He started to sweat, the statement said.

Cooke called 911. After Tungwenuk died at the hospital, Cooke told an investigator with the State Medical Examiner Office about the heroin injection. The medical examiner determined that Tungwenuk died of "acute combined toxic effects of heroin and ethanol," the statement said.

Superior Court Judge Jack Smith sentenced Cooke to two years in prison and three years of probation.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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