How Could You? Hall of Shame-Leon Marrero case-Child Death and Lawsuit

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Evansville, Indiana, foster child, Leon Marrero, 3,  died on January 9, 2026.

His “mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming that the Vanderburgh County Department of Child Services allowed for her child with special needs to be placed into the care of foster parents who were unable to care for his complex medical needs, leading to his death earlier this year.

According to the lawsuit, Leon Marrero was born on March 30, 2022, with a mutation in his TUBB3 gene, causing him to require 24-hour monitoring and care. Upon his birth, Leon’s mother, Nicole Marrero, was required to complete approximately three months of medical training before he could be released from the hospital into her care.

Neglect arrest

A statement from attorneys representing Nicole state that on September 11, 2025, Leon was admitted to a hospital for respiratory issues, requiring extensive treatment at the hospital. Nicole reportedly spent time with Leon daily, while balancing the needs of her other children.

On September 21, a release says Nicole went to the hospital to visit Leon, leaving her other child in the care of her 14-year-year-old daughter to babysit. Nicole then went to dinner with a friend and fell asleep at the friend’s house.

The next day, Nicole was reportedly arrested at the hospital and charged with child neglect for allowing the child to babysit her younger sibling.

The Vanderburgh County Department of Child’s Services removed all of Nicole’s children from her care due to the allegations. Her contact with Leon was also limited by DCS while he stayed in the hospital.

Foster parents take Leon

Leon’s condition improved to the point he was allowed to be discharged in December. According to the lawsuit, Leon was placed in the care of Jennifer Cobb and Will Singleton at the direction of the Indiana Department of Child Services.

Attorneys representing Nicole say that Cobb and Singleton only completed a few hours of medical training, and did not demonstrate sufficient knowledge of how to care for Leon.

After a few days of being placed in the care of Cobb and Singleton, Leon’s gastronomy feeding tube became dislodged, and required him to be readmitted for emergency medical services. Despite this, Leon was returned to the care of Cobb and Singleton.

Leon passes away

On January 4, 2026, Cobb called 911 to report that Leon was having trouble breathing and had visibly turned blue from an intermittent lack of oxygen. He was admitted to the hospital, where he died a few days later.

His death was determined to be caused by a mucus plug becoming lodged in his tracheostomy tube, causing him to be deprived of oxygen, leading to a fatal cardiac arrest.

Statements from attorneys claim the 3-year-old’s death could have been prevented through proper cleaning of his medical apparatus.

Nicole demands accountability

In a statement from Nicole, she writes that Leon was a son, a brother, a beautiful child who was deeply loved, and she will not let his passing be the end of his story.

“Leon’s story deserves to be told, deserves to be remembered, and deserves action.” Nicole wrote in her statement. “I hope and pray that this will be Leon’s full story, that in all of this senseless loss we can prevent this from ever happening again. I will not rest until we receive justice and accountability for Leon. I will not rest until we see laws passed and real changes made to ensure that no child, no parent, no sibling, will ever have to experience this again.””

Evansville mother files wrongful death lawsuit after special needs child dies in foster’s care
[WEHT/WTVW 9/8/26 by Seth Austin]

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