Background: News footage of Cierra Coker in court (WICS). Inset: Sophia Davis (Park Funeral Homes).
An Illinois woman has been found guilty of killing her boyfriend’s toddler after her first time in front of a jury ended in a mistrial.
Cierra Coker, 24, was found guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the death of 19-month-old Sophia Davis, who died of blunt force trauma while in Coker’s care in 2022. Coker was dating Sophia’s father at the time, and on Feb. 5, 2022, Coker called 911 after finding the little girl unresponsive. Following several days of testimony, the jury returned its verdict on Thursday.
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During the first day of testimony, jurors heard the two-minute 911 call that Coker placed on Feb. 5, 2022, after finding Sophia unresponsive. Coker told dispatchers, “She’s awake but barely breathing. Her head is tilted like she’s dying. I don’t know what’s going on. Her mouth is bleeding.”
The prosecution’s first witness was Cory Sizemore, the EMT who arrived at the home Sophia’s father shared with Coker in Lincoln, Illinois. Sizemore told the jury that the little girl was lifeless and her lips were blue.
The defense attempted to argue that Sophia was experiencing developmental delays and had several health conditions that resulted in a natural death. Sophia’s mother, Casandra Needham, confirmed during her testimony that Sophia was diagnosed with autism and had early delays with her speech and mobility.
Needham told the court that on the day Sophia’s father picked her up, the little girl had a small contusion on her head after bumping it on a picnic table. She testified that the same day, Sophia had a slight fever and was teething, which made her fussy.
On Feb. 6, 2022, Coker was watching Sophia and texted Needham to tell her she thought the little girl was sick. Later the same day, Coker contacted Needham in a video call after finding Sophia unresponsive and bleeding from her gums. Needham said it looked like Sophia was not breathing, and she told Coker to perform CPR on Sophia, but Coker said she was not comfortable doing that. After Needham asked for the address to the apartment, Coker ended the call.
Sophia’s sister, 13-year-old Paige Davis, who was 9 years old and in the apartment her father shared with Coker on the day Coker was watching both of them, testified that she saw Sophia bite Coker’s finger, according to courtroom coverage by local ABC affiliate WICS. Paige then saw Coker take Sophia into another room to change her diaper and Sophia started crying. Coker came out of the room with the little girl, whose mouth was bleeding.
Paige told the court that Sophia was barely moving.
Dr. Giovanna Caprirolo, who was working at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, where Sophia was flown to receive more critical medical care, testified that medical staff became concerned that Sophia had suffered cardiac arrest due to non-accidental trauma. Dr. Caprirolo stated that Sophia soon became brain-dead. The little girl tested negative for both bacterial and viral infections.
Sophia died three days after she was brought to the hospital.
Coker went on trial for the same charges in August 2025, but the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
After Thursday’s unanimous verdict, Logan County State’s Attorney Bradley Hauge said in a statement to local CBS affiliate WCIA, “Justice would be the ability to bring [Sophia] back, but we cannot do that for her. Instead, we were able to prove that Cierra Coker acted out of anger and took Sophia’s life; that Sophia did nothing wrong; and that she did not pass because of a disease or natural causes. I want to express my admiration for Sophia’s sister who testified in the trial. I cannot imagine the courage it took for her to testify in front of everyone and relive the worst day of her life, in front of the person who caused it.”
A sentencing date has not been set as of this writing.
The post ‘Tilted like she’s dying’: Teething 19-month-old fatally beaten by dad’s girlfriend who refused to do CPR as the child turned blue first appeared on Law & Crime.
