Buddy Cook's adopted Texas family devastated after his grave is vandalized

The adoptive parents of a 4-year-old Texas boy who died in 2013 were left heartbroken after discovering last week that their son's grave has been defaced by vandals.

Buddy Cole Cook was found unconscious and not breathing in his bedroom in Cleburne March 22, 2013. By the time paramedics arrived, the toddler, who had been subjected to horrific sexual abuse while in the custody of his biological mother, died in the arms of his adoptive mother, Angel Cook.

Mrs Cook and her husband, David, were later charged with felony injury to a child after being accused of abusing the starving him. Their seven other children were temporarily placed in foster care, where they allegedly suffered severe physical abuse.

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Vicious crime: Angle Cook (third left) is surrounded by six of her children as they look upon her adopted son's ransacked grave site in Texas last week

Irreplaceable: The perpetrator smashed a ceramic impression of 4-year-old Buddy Cook's hand and a crystal cross that was on his headstone 

Heartless thief: The person responsible for the vandalism has stolen most of Buddy's favorite toys from his cemetery plot 

Defaced: The child's headstone was left smeared with thick blue paint

The Cook family visited the grave June 20, and at the time everything seemed fine. Four days later, they returned and found the plot ransacked and strewn with debris

The charges against the couple were dismissed in December after new witnesses and evidence emerged proving their innocence and paving the way for the surviving children's return home.

Last week, the reunited Cook family went to Buddy's grave site at Rio Vista Cemetery, only to discover that someone had ransacked the funeral plot.

Tragic: The Cooks were charged in May 2013 with felony injury to a child after four-year-old Buddy (above) was discovered dead in his bedroom at their Texas home. At the time, they were accused of starving the boy

The vandals smeared blue paint on the headstone, stole Buddy's favorite toys and smashed to bits an irreplaceable ceramic impression of his tiny hand.

The perpetrators also shattered a crystal cross and spoiled an angel statue with the paint.

‘My kids cried, because those toys mean everything to my family,’ Cook told the station WFAA. ‘These things, they have memories behind them, and that handprint I can never get back. That was the only one I had.’

Local police say if arrested and convicted, the vandal will face a third-degree felony charge that carries up to 10 years in prison.

Angel Cook and her children stopped by Buddy's cemetery plot June 20 to clean the grave site, place fresh flowers and arrange Buddy's beloved plastic dump trucks and a red fire truck.

Four days later, the family returned to Rio Vista Cemetery to find the toys missing and the grave vandalized.

'You took something that meant the world to me, my family and my dead baby brother,' buddy's 13-year-old sibling, Austin Cook, wrote on Facebook. 'It was there for his birthday Tuesday and now i know I probably won't ever see them again but I pray that who ever has them gives them to a kid who needed toys but it doesn't make it right or fair.'

Rio Vista Police Chief David Nederhaus spent hours at the graveyard removing the thick blue paint from the headstone.

Buddy Cook would have turned 7 years old Tuesday. To mark the bittersweet occasion, his family lined his grave with plastic red roses.

Heartbreaking video: Angel Cook, 37, released an emotional YouTube video tearfully asking the person responsible for the vandalism to return her deceased son's toys

They also took to social media, begging people to help them track down the dead toddler's toys.

‘Those were his toys that he spent hours playing with,’ Austin wrote on Facebook. ‘He used to push around his fire engine, pretending to save us, and we would go in the backyard and build hills with his dump trucks. I can't ever do that again with him because he is dead ... those toys mean a lot.’

Angel Cook, 37, released an emotional YouTube video tearfully asking the person responsible for the vandalism to return her deceased son's toys, no questions asked.  

'We don't have the funds to buy new toys to put out there,' Mrs Cook says in the heartbreaking 8-minute video. 'We barely have enough to feed our kids, and we're told that we can't ask for help because if we do, they will take our seven children and we'll never see them again.'

'Please have a heart, please return my son's items,' the mom concludes, with tears streaming down her face.

As of Tuesday afternoon, most of the toys have not been recovered, but the public's response to the Cooks' desperate pleas has been overwhelming.

Strangers began leaving new dump trucks of all sizes, balloons, teddy bears and heartfelt handwritten notes paying tribute to the little boy at the cemetery.

Scrubbed clean: The police chief of Rio Vista, Texas, helped the family remove the paint from the grave marker 

Overwhelming response: The Cooks shared news of the vandalism on Facebook, asking people for help in tracking down the pilfered toys. the response's to the family's plea has been overwhelming 

Acts of kindness: Strangers began leaving dump trucks, toy cars and stuffed animals in tribute to the little boy who would have turned 7 Tuesday 

The Cooks broke down in tears, according to Buddy's 13-year-old brother, when they saw all the gifts 

Some Good Samaritans left handwritten notes commiserating with the bereaved parents  

Angel Cook, Buddy's adoptive mother, said he especially loved playing with dump trucks

One woman who lost a young daughter around the time of Buddy's death wrote in a letter that the Cooks' plight has touched her heart and she felt compelled to do something for them 

'My heart and my husband's as well hurts so very deeply for your family,' one woman who lost a young daughter around the time of Buddy's death wrote in a letter left at the graveside. 'We wanted to bless you by replacing Buddy's things but when we came out here all he was lacking was a fire truck. We weren't able to find him a big one so we hope there 2 little guys work out.'

On Monday, one of Buddy's beloved plastic dinosaurs turned up in some toll grass.

Austin Cook, 13, wrote on Facebook that people’s kindness has brought them to tears.

Angry: Angel Cook, 37, and her husband David (both pictured with their seven children) say their biological children were abused in care while they were trying to prove their innocence over their son Buddy's death

‘I don't even know these people who came and put stuff on his grave but I hope you know that what you did has changed the way I see things,’ the boy noted.

‘So many people have been so mean to my family. Our windows were broke out, child killer was spray painted on our brick home, our house has been egged, gasoline was poured around our house twice and so many people have said horrible things to us while in the grocery store with my mom and I won't even get into how mean people are on social media but today I [have] seen something completely different. I seen people with hearts. I seen love.’

The act of vandalism is only the latest in a series of tragedies that have befallen the Cook family over the past two years.    

Angel Cook, 37, and her husband David, 48, were charged in May 2013 with felony injury to a child after their four-year-old son, Buddy, was discovered dead in his bedroom at their Texas home.

At the time, they were accused of neglecting and starving the youngster. However, the charges were eventually dropped. 

Following the ruling, the Cooks' seven surviving children - who had been taken by Child Protective Services - were placed in the care of a family friend, before finally being returned to their parents. 

However, the Cooks' joy quickly turned to horror when they learned that some of their children had allegedly been neglected and abused in care while they were fighting their charges in court.

The couple, who have six of their own kids and are adoptive parents to Buddy's biological sister, say their sons were abused by other children during their time in care, leaving one covered in bruises.

They also allege their biological daughter was left ill and wheezing, with a staph infection covering her face, after being placed in a foster home with smokers - despite suffering from a lung disease.

'Fighting for justice': The charges against Mrs Cook (pictured with her five surviving sons) and her husband were dismissed last December after new fact witnesses and medical evidence in the case emerged

Following the ruling, the Cooks' seven surviving children were taken out of care and given to a family friend, before finally being returned to their parents. Above, Buddy (left) in a family photo and with his sister (right)

And they say their youngest child was left vomiting blood after swallowing screws at his new home.

Mrs Cook - whose family is still under CPS supervision until October - and two of her sons testified about the 'abuse' before the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission this summer, ABC 13 reported.

'I reported to my foster parents and my social worker,' son Bryan Cook testified. 'The social worker told me it was not a big deal, not to worry about it. When I told my foster parents again, the foster dad took me and my brother into a room and showed his guns and said we needed to keep quiet.'

He added that he and his brothers were locked in a room and not allowed to go to the bathroom. 

'My little brother had to pee in his pants at night,' he told the Commission. 

However, the allegations were reportedly investigated by officials and no wrongdoing was found. 

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services uncovered 'no issues' with the care.

Meanwhile, CPS spokesman Marissa Gonzales told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: 'There are no open investigations and CPS is not currently involved with the family in any way.' 

And official records, obtained by ABC 13, show that the foster parents whom the Cooks' daughter, Paige, was placed with told state workers that they did smoke - but not in the presence of children. 

The Cooks, however, are still fighting 'for justice' for their children. Mrs Cook's profile picture on Facebook features the slogan: 'Hell hath no fury like a mother's quest for her child's justice.'

Speaking to the Star-Telegram, the 37-year-old mother said: 'We want to make sure that the CPS workers are held accountable when they knowingly leave children in abusive foster homes.

'And to see that this never, ever happens to another Texas family.' 

Home: The Cooks' joy quickly turned to horror when they learned that some of their children had allegedly been neglected and abused by their foster families. Above, the Cooks' home, where Buddy was found dead

Grave: The couple, who have six of their own kids and are adoptive parents to Buddy's biological sister, say their sons were abused by other children during their time in care. Above, six of their kids at Buddy's grave

When the Cooks adopted their late son Buddy, he had already suffered horrific abuse. He was covered in cuts and would sometimes refuse to eat - leading his new parents to give him Ensure.

At the age of two, he even had a sexually transmitted disease from previous abuse.

He had been left so traumatized that he would place butter knives under his pillow before bed. As he grew, Buddy's mental health improved, but he remained very thin, despite apparently eating well. 

In March 2013, Mrs Cook discovered her son lying unconscious in his bedroom in Cleburne, not breathing. She called 911, but Buddy died in her arms before Cleburne Police Department arrived.

The Cooks were immediately seen in a suspicious light by CPS workers, who accused the couple of endangering the physical or emotional well-being of Buddy.

They reportedly took away their surviving seven children, including their 14-month-old son, on the same day as Buddy's funeral. 

In one affidavit, a CPS case worker wrote: '[Buddy] appeared to be only skin and bones. Buddy's stomach was caved in and his ribs could be seen popping out from under his skin.'

CPS officials suggested Buddy had died from dehydration and malnutrition, and his parents had not sought help, leading to his death.

However, an autopsy showed that the youngster's bladder was full at the time of his death and his stomach had food in it. It also found that although he was underweight, he was not 'skin and bones'. 

Meanwhile, police were 'not particularly suspicious' about the child's death, ABC 13 reported.

Dr Lloyd White, who performed Buddy's autopsy, told the site that he believed at the time - and still believes - Buddy died from natural cases relating to his body's inability to properly metabolize food. 

Claims: They also allege their eldest daughter was left ill and wheezing, with a staph infection covering her face, after being placed in a foster home with smokers - despite suffering from a lung disease. And they say their youngest child (center with his mom and two sisters) was left vomiting blood after swallowing screws

In memory: In March 2013, Mrs Cook discovered Buddy lying unconscious in his bedroom, not breathing. She called 911, but trafically, Buddy died in her arms before Cleburne Police Department arrived at the home

This would have been due to a pre-existing medical condition, he said. 

Despite his view, the chief medical examiner ruled that Buddy's death was a homicide and the Cooks were arrested and charged with injury a child, for which they could have been jailed for life. 

In subsequent days, the couple were targeted by members of the public.

They had 'Child Killers' written in red across their garage and gasoline poured around their house.

'Everything was taken from us,' said Mrs Cook, who had no history with CPS and had apparently intended to take Buddy to the doctor's on the day of his death after he had vomited the night before.

'We lost our son. We had to bury him. I lost my volunteer work. I lost my kids.. a lot of friends.'

However, following emotional legal proceedings - which the Cooks claim cost them a staggering $200,000 - the couple's charges were dropped last December when new fact witnesses and medical evidence emerged in the case.

The family claim that some of this evidence was hidden by CPS, it is reported. In April, the seven Cook children were returned to their parents. 

But Patrick Barkman, an attorney for the Cooks, says the family has been left severely damaged by the allegations surrounding Buddy's death.

'CPS has their view of the case, and their view of the case from the start was that the Cooks had deliberately injured this little boy and deliberately starved him to death,' Barkman said.

He added: 'There are still black marks against [the Cooks]. They’ve received death threats. People are still shooting off their mouths online. And we may never know what really killed Buddy.'

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