Fund the Fight for the Cook Family

My name is Karen and I am reaching out to you for help for my dear friend Angel Cook and her family. It's hard to know where to start in sharing their story. They have endured so much trauma and injustice at the hands of people that are supposed to protect and serve. Many of you may already know their story, but I'll do my best to share for those of you who don't. 

The Cooks took guardianship of their niece Mary as an infant and then nephew, Buddy about seven months later when he was two into their loving home (from a relative with a troubling drug history and home life living in another state). It soon was obvious that Buddy had been severly abused while with his bio-mom and, therefore, the Cooks sought medical treatment and communicated openly with CPS.  


CPS, while giving full custody to the Cooks who adopted them as soon as they could, withheld an extremely important bit of information about Buddy....he had HIV antibodies present when blood tested.  If the Cooks had known this, they would have sought treatment for him immediately.  In the two years that they raised Buddy, he was taught about real love, and slowly started being able to show it as well.  You see his first two years of life were filled with physcial, sexual and mental abuse at the hands of his mother and numerous men. His little body was left scarred and he had anal warts from the abuse, and unknown to the Cooks, his silent killer HIV.  


"CPS, while giving full custody to the Cooks, withheld an extremely important bit of information about Buddy....he had HIV antibodies present..."


Buddy did have trouble gaining weight and this concerned the Cooks who sought medical advice and gave him extra food and protein shakes like Ensure. While still small he did gain weight, and never lost a single pound in their care as their pediatrician confirms.  At the age of 4 he complained of some stomach pain and Angel decided to take him to the doctor to get it checked out after his nap.  While in the other room with another child she heard Buddy making some strange sounds and when she went in to check on him, he was not conscious and stopped breathing when she picked him up.  She called 911 and performed CPR until help arrived, but Buddy was gone.  That very day she was accused of killing her son and all 7 of her children were taken away by CPS.  Her children were not able to attend her son's viewing and only got to come, briefly, to his funeral before being whisked away to Foster Care.  Angel and her husband were falsely accused of murder and arrested.



If you have followed this case at all, you know that all charges were dropped, their innocence was proven, and the truth came out about the hidden HIV evidence that explained their son's death, but the nightmare doesn't end there.  For over a year they fought to bring the rest of the children home. CPS lied to have them placed in Foster Care even though the Cooks had many family members willing to be guardians during the investigation. While in State's care, 4 of her boys were physically, verbally, and sexually abused and the other children all suffered medical and physical neglect. The video below is made by two of her sons Justin and Austin sharing their story.  They are brave and remarkable young men.


The Cook's are so grateful to have their living children back at home, but are devastated and forever effected by the trauma, abuse and injustices they have endured. The grief of losing precious Buddy is an everyday emotional struggle for them all. Through it all they remain strong in their faith and trust in God.

http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/2014/09/02/adoptive-parents-cleared-wesley-cook/15001007/

As you can imagine, they were devastated financially as well during the years of fighting for their innocence and for the lives of their children. They even sold their wedding rings and anything else valuable to them to fight for their kids. I know our goal seems steep, but it doesn't even cover the full amount of the costs they have incurred.  Here is a breakdown of some of their expenses.

Criminal attorneys:  Angel's $25,000 since they were coming after her being a stay-at-home mom
David's $9,500

Bonds (They had 2 bonds each..... the 1st one was $75,000 the 2nd ones with the same charges were $150,000...they had to pay over $40,000)

Paid Cps attorney ($11,000+)

Medical records ($4,500)

Psych eval ($1500.00)

Parenting classes ($90.00)

Court ordered Drug tests($300.00)

Pictures for case ($220.00)

Court records ($3,597)

Capital speaking ($400.00)

Native tribe conference regarding custody of Mary ($250.00)

Kids supplies(clothes,shoes,health insurance etc while in state care($10,000)-shouldn't the state have been paying for that?!?!

Private Investigation/Surveilance due to CPS harassment ($9,350)

Medical cost due to kids suffering neglect in foster care ($900.00)

Groceries while kids placed with church member ($4,500) not including furnishing her home with beds,clothes etc.

https://www.facebook.com/Justiceforthecookchildren

The next step in their fight is to clear their record of all charges.  As it stands now, Angel is not even allowed to her children's school functions even though she was found innocent.  They have a hearing at the end of September in Austin, TX, but are struggling to make ends meet, much less afford travel costs and legal fees.  The legal fees needed to cover this hearing are at least $4,500 (Their attorney is giving them a huge discount). This is an honest and hard-working family who have already paid off many of the expenses, but still are feeling the immense weight of this financial burden.  Will you please pray for them and consider donating to help the Cook family?
 
I know we can come together as a community and lift up Angel and her precious family that has done so much for others.  They have given time, money, love and resources to help other families struggling with false CPS allegations even in the midst of their suffering.  They have been a light in this dark world; let's be a part of their light right now.





Thank you and God Bless!