Alexis Pounder, 3, Tortured and Starved to Death by Dad Donald Cockrell, Girlfriend

• I heard from a friend of the father's family that he got custody because of the mother's physical abuse of the girls and her severe mental problems. She supposedly had a stalker streak, too. I also hear that his fiance wasn't much of a prize, and resented having the girls in the house. Added burden, another woman's children, I don't know why. This is all second-hand, mind you, but he worked nights, and I believe that she was home with the kids all day. Either way, neither should have been taking care of young children if they weren't capable of it. And the grandparents SHOULD have intervened. You can't live in the same house like that and not at least suspect that something's going on. I agree with you, Elizabeth, about the public assistance. Too many people live off of the state, which they wouldn't be able to do if they were forced to use birth control. I know one woman who had three kids, abused them just about every way she could, and never worked a day in her life, thanks to public assistance. You don't want to know how they turned out. It's heartbreaking. . .

• Mom has a drug problem, dad is a sadistic nightmare. This poor baby didn't have a chance. Thanks to God for taking her home to heaven, but Satan sent her there. Capital punishment 'too expensive' they say? Put this guy and his girlfriend on a strict diet of rat poison - cheap and easy.

• i cant beleive the kind of rotten vile people who would harm an innocent child!! SICK!!!! rest in peace alexis XD.. ur in a better place now. as for the parents, they deserve everything rotten tht comes their way.

• it makes me sick! to think that people could to that to a child! how can u torture a toddler. an innocent baby who was defenceless!! i thought the parents were supposed to protect their children. always put them first. its horrible, what the world is coming to these days. i love children. no matter, if they are mine or somebody elses, i would give my life for them. b cuzz, i had a chance to live my life, whether it was long or short, the child wouldnt have anything. just those few blurry years that they wouldnt be able to remember, even in heaven.so i would give mine away, to give them a chance at something. may you rest in peace alexis, and all of you tortured sibblings <3<3 but for the parents, u deserve everything rotten that comes your way.

• Now resting in the arms of GOD. My heart is so heavy.

• That comment was spot on melb1970 whaere were all you smartasses when this kid was breathing? Now you want get involved, well your a day late and a dollar short.

• You know, it really pisses me off seeing so many people defending both parents here. The fact of the matter is someone should have noticed the abuse. If she had an eating disorder it could have been taken care of, and if the doctors weren't taking it seriously like you claim then if it were my child I wouldn't be leaving that office until something was done. FYI they wont close the doctors office if someone is inside, and if they called the police then great have the police tell them this poor girl is starving and needs help. Why wasnt it done? BECAUSE NO ONE CARED UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. Blunt force trauma is pretty serious and has nothing to do with an eating disorder. And the fact that all of you claim to know why this was happening and why that was going on makes you all just as responsible because you should have called the police or CPS! This girl was neglected. There is no excuse, and if it was the girlfriend causing the abuse then the father is just as guilty because he didn't stop her, he didnt leave the step mom, and he didn't take enough action to ensure the safety of his children. I hope you take pride in your family now.

• This is just sad- after reading all the comments from people that are supposedly on the inside- I have to say it appears everybody wants to be involved now after the child is dead but nobody really had the time for her before now- eh? If they had been so involved ( that would require real action you know touching, feeding, and caring for the child)and informed while she was alive perhaps the child would be alive.

• Rest in peace, little Lexi angel. I hope the police get to the bottom of this soon. Both families are grieving. This beautiful little girl has been taken from them, all that remains now is that someone pays for what they've done. I do feel, though, that the judge that gave the father custody needs to be reviewed. If there were problems on both sides, it may have been best that Lexi and her sister went to foster care while things were sorted out in the legal system. All we can pray for now is for healing for all involved, and that justice be served swiftly for the person that took Lexi's life.

• i also have more to comment for T. donnie saw his girls friday night at approxatly 1230am on the the 9th he checked on her and she told him she was thirsty. i dont know whether or not she was given something to drink or not. they had a late night movie night on friday. donnie said lexi had no signs of bruising. donnie also got home at around 745 everynight after work. he told heather thats when he got home and it was 15 min before bedtime and she couldnt talk to the girls because that was his time and he wasent gonna share his time. donnie also defended michelle to teh end. it wasent till they entered their pleas that he has started working with detectives. and before you try to argue with me about my facts they come from the phone conversation heather had with donnie sunday the 10th. when he decided to tell her his side of the story. and the stuff about him defending michelle came from the detective. also donnie did have a substance abuse issue and that comes straight from the source he got it from.

• t who are you. you must be from donnies side of the family but i can garuntee you that im closer family then you. heather had been doing the dr thing with lexi, she does not have a drug problem she did in the past. there is a medical record from her dr in november where they randomly uaed her without her knowledge and it was clean she submitted a random ua for dhs and guess what it was clean. she had filled out paper work but was told there was an extension on the custody case till jan 17th. which was later found to be untrue. she didnt even know he had been awarded custody. did you know she called the multnomah county sheriff not because of suspected abuse but living conditions. no i dont believe donnie killed his daughter, i believe he was guilty of bein a poor parent and believing what his girlfriend told him. i knew donnie personally and he was more involved with video games and internet to really pay attention. donnie is guilty of bein an idiot. his girlfriend was crazy and had a story for everything and apparently the bj was good enough for him to believe every word she said.

• Susan, I am not making excuses for Michelle. I completely understand why DOnald is being charged, however I just feel it is a very unfortunate situation that has occurred for Him and his children. As a mother of 3 myself, I can't imagine being with someone who I trust completely, and then find out they have murdered my child, and while I am away they are not feeding my child, and telling me my child is clumsy (something that is not uncommen for a toddler). I would have trusted the same as he did, unfortunatly there are horrible people out there and not everyone can be trusted. I also feel the mother should have been more involved/aggressive for her children too.

• I meant to say Donald but was going to say that while Michelle is facing more charges he still had an obligation as a parent to keep his daughters safe. His daughters were being tortured, he should have noticed something if he had been paying attention

• T- I think you are making excuses for Micheal. As a working parent the one thing that I make damn sure of when I get home is that my child is being well taken care of and not abused. You can not convince me that he worked 7 day a week and paid no attention to his daughter. He should have noticed point blank!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is the father and it is his responsibility to ensure the well being of his child NO EXCEPTIONS!!!

• Bethany, No one is slandering Heather, just stating the fact that they did not release the baby to her because of drug abuse. Also the fact that she didn't show up to court to fight for her girls is why she didn't have them to begin with. And just an FYI, Donald is not the one who killed Lexi, Michelle is the one being charged with the death. Donald is being held responsible because as a parent you are the one who is to provide a safe environment to the children, and unfortunatly he didn't do that while he was working to support them he was unable to keep them from harm. So I guess unless you are following everything like us (the family) maybe you should get your facts straight. Heather knew Lexi had a problem with eating, why didn't she treat it more aggressively prior to Donald & Michelle getting the kids?

• Heather was NOT denied rights to her second daughter because she has a drug problem. I know Heather and the details of this case. Custody is PENDING a drug test, which they are doing on her because the creep that DID kill her daughter is accusing her of having a drug problem. Once she clears the test, which she will, she will get her daughter back. The court is just covering all the bases making sure that the little girl goes to a stable environment, which is fine. But don't be slandering people. Get your facts straight!!

• Well for all of you who wanted to blame Donald for the murder of his baby girl here is some new info for you. Here is a list of the charges that Michelle is facing.. ORS.163.115 - MURDER no bail DISMISSED ORS.163.095 - MURDER-AGGRAVATED no bail ORS.163.115 - MURDER BY ABUSE no bail ORS.163.115 - MURDER BY ABUSE no bail ORS.163.115 - MURDER BY ABUSE no bail ORS.163.205 - CRIMINAL MISTREATMENT I no bail ORS.163.205 - CRIMINAL MISTREATMENT I no bail ORS.163.205 - CRIMINAL MISTREATMENT I no bail ORS.163.205 - CRIMINAL MISTREATMENT I no bail And Here is a list of charges Donald is facing... ORS.163.115 - MURDER no bail DISMISSED ORS.163.115 - MURDER BY ABUSE no bail ORS.163.205 - CRIMINAL MISTREATMENT I no bail ORS.163.205 - CRIMINAL MISTREATMENT I no bail So to all those who judged before the truth came out...here it is. He did not murder his child...She did. He is being charged because he was the one who had the children in custody, and it happened under his nose, even though he didn't know it because he spent many hours at work and on a bus getting there and back.

• There is a special place in hell for those who abuse children.

• What really breaks my heart about cases like this is the fact that there are many couples out there who have been trying desperately for years to have a child to raise and love, while so many people out there become breeding machines with poor parenting skills and selfish aspirations. In a country of fishing permits and massage therapist licenses, a person can have as many kids as they want, regardless or their financial situation or mental health. It was more understandable to have many children back in my great grandmother's day, when sickness would take some of them, and help was needed to run ranches. But in this day and age, it's more of a selfish venture to have more than 3 kids. And I'm not trying to insult those who have more than 3 children, just observing that it doesn't make much sense in this economy. Kids deserve attention and love from their parents, as well as all of the basic essentials. It seems like anymore, so many parents think of their kids as playthings, objects that are around for their happiness, and when they are bored with them, they stop paying positive attention at all. It's just plain sad. I hope that all of the children taken from that home find good, wonderful families to give them the lives they deserve.

• That's a good observation. A lot of step-parents or girlfriends/boyfriends have been know to mistreat kids that don't belong to them in mixed families. Seriously, how many times have we heard about the boyfriend killing the girlfriend's kid? About a million.

• Jeremy, First off let me tell you something....You don't know what you haven't seen all you know is what the media is tell you. Yes blunt force trauma & nutritional problems caused the death of little Lexi. However all you that are looking at pictures saying drugs are involved or from Cinderella "Look at his face, and his eyes!"....did you forget he just lost his little girl, is now sitting in a jail cell for the death of her, and trying to understand all of this just like the rest of us. What would your picture look like? Just so you know what the media hasn't told anyone is that Donald was working in Hillsboro and living in Sandy. He rode the bus daily and left as early as 4-5am to get there, not returning home until late around 9-10pm. When he say Lexi on Thursday night she was doing fine, He didn't see her on Friday because he worked late, Then when he woke on Saturday that is when he found her. He was just as shocked and scared as all of the family. However, Michelle on the other hand, was the primary caregiver for the five children. She was home with the kids, up approx. 2 hours before Donald, Her children are unharmed and just fine. Donald's girls both showed signs of abuse. Does anyone but me think that is odd. So before you go pointing the finger at the father maybe you should know some of the facts, and know there is a Large family suffering the loss of an innocent child. I get that is looks horrible for the public with the information they have, However it is even worse for the family and friends that knew her.

• Hey Rocki, Consideration for others? Are you a total fucking moron or what? Theres a dead child here, and apparently other abuses taking place right under the noses of the adults living in that house. Dont tell me to mind my manners jack-off!

• Jeremy, I'm sure T wasn't sitting on the couch watching someone beat Alexis. Jesus Christ, have some fucking manners and consideration for others. We don't all live in your guilty until proven innocent narrow-minded world. You're way out of line.

• Hey T, In case you were not aware...blunt force trauma is a cause of death. And how do you explain the signs of torture on the other child. If any adult in your sick twisted family new this was going on and didnt do anything to stop it...you will be joining these fucks in Hell.

• Theres a special place in hell reserved for monsters like this. I just hope someone inflicts as much pain and misery on them as possible before they leave this world.

• Look at his face, and his eyes! I am imagining that I am that 3-year-old having no one else to turn to but your father for safety, only to be tortured and abused. Poor little girl. R.I.P. little one.

• T, That is so bad. Nutrition is so important at that age. So many deficiencies you can get leading to serious health problems when you are an adult. I am not a dr. but did htey ever check her throat or nose to see if there was something wrong there causing her not to eat? Did they think it was something in her brain? (I have a family member who had a brain tumor and he would not remember to eat unless someone told him to.)

• Rocki, I too was just as shocked that the Dr's were not treating her more aggresivly. However Donny had been trying to get her to take Ensure, Pediasure, whatever she would take. This has been going on for a while, and if you even look at the pics when she was younger, she was very small then too.

• T, It says they wouldn't place the remaining children w/Heather b/c she has drug problem up in the story. But what would cause a child to have that severe of an eating problem? Why couldn't the doctors find out what was wrong with her? At least if she won't eat anything else, she's gotta be a candy eater (I can't imagine what kid isn't) I would at least feed her some high calorie crap for a short period of time to keep her weight up. What's wrong with these doctors? I've never heard of this before.

• Adrianne, So you're telling me she picked the girl up two weeks prior and KNEW something bad was happening to her; and still took her back to the father? Then shame on her! If my kid look like what that little girl had to look like; they would have to throw me in jail to keep me from giving her back. You don't just send your kid back to die, b/c you don't have custody. She's a disgrace of a mother! Lisa, Get off the bandwagon! You're gettin' on my nerves!

• this creature should be vivisected one joint at a time with general anesthesia at each limb as it is removed and tourniquets used to control loss of blood and and then left in the woods for the animals to eat him alive.

• In reference to all the above comments, Let me fill you in on something. #1. No Where does it say Donald & Michelle were on Drugs (just an assumption based on a pic). #2. It doesn't say the father murdered the child, they are both in jail until proven otherwise. The autopsy report has not even been released nor has a cause of death been released. The news & media are reporting what is going to gain attention. #3. Alexis & her younger sister have been living with Donald since October, and Donald was awarded custody approx 2 weeks ago because Heather never showed up to fight for them. If she knew that Alexis had eating problems, she should have fought with Donald harder. He was purchasing Pediasure and other things to try and get her to eat. She wouldn't eat....and children don't just starve overnight. As a member of the family no funeral arrangements have been made because the autopsy is not complete, and they won't release the body to us, So maybe before you all run your mouth consider yourself in our shoes. This is a tragic event to us as well. Alexis will surely be missed by all she touched.

• Those of you who are making comments about the mother of Alexis need to know the truth. Heather and her husband were trying to get help from those in power. Her daughter's were taken from her for a "visit with dad" and not brought home to her! So please, unless you know the details, do not spread rumors or feed into the lies. We, the community and family, are all struggling to understand why our precious angel was taken away from us.

• None of you know anything about the Mother of Alexis. She is clean and had tried to go to authorities about what she suspected was going on in the fathers house and was completely ignored. Do not comment on what you don't know.

• I just dont get why someone would do this to a child! I just dotn see how you can be so cruel and horribly to an innocent baby. Im glad they said they werent going to turn Alexis' sister over to his parents. Even if they werent drug addicts, living above their apartment they would have noticed abuse- if not, atleast that the kids were starving. I hope these two get stuck with the worst possible sentence.

• i agree mandy. this poor girl was dealt a couple of shitheads for parents.

• Her mother was about as bad as her father! She had to have known that poor girl was being mistreated. Had to! She told police she saw her like two weeks earlier! You're telling me that child was starved to death and the mother had no idea; give me a break! She was a druggy and cared more about herself then her children. Thats why that lowlife you'd call the father had custody of them! Damn shame!!

• Elizabeth, Or men, either way works......

• FoolsGold, Agreed.

• Knowing what security guards make here in Oregon the real problem was probably unrelenting and inescapable poverty with all other problems arising out of that.

• I can't help but see the faces of my beautiful two and a half and four and a half year old daughters in hers. How anybody could do something so monstrous is beyond me. But she's at peace now, and hopefully her father's torture will begin when he gets to visit the big boys in prison.

• what? WOMEN should get permanent birth control until they can prove they'd be good mothers? This little girl was killed by her father, not her mother. It amazes me, though, how many people just keep having babies and don't give a crap about them. Why do they bother? Oh, that's right, public assistance. Put a limit on how many kids the state'll pay for and I bet these losers wouldn't keep reproducing. I can't stand the thought of my son missing one meal-how could anyone starve a child like that? (a girl in my hometown didn't feed her baby so they took him away-and then she had more-if they take one away, then they should fix you so you can't screw anybody else up)

• I just looked at an article from their local paper and it stated that DHS declined to comment if they had ever been to that address on an investigation, citing privacy laws. Which means that is a big YES. If the kid actually died from starvation, I think some doctor probably reported them (doctors are required to report suspected child abuse.) The article says the actualy mother had been taking the girl to the doctor. Once again, this is probably a situation where DHS totally dropped the ball and a kid ended up dead. The never come right out and state why the police were there in the first place - only vaguely about a "disturbance."

• Mandy, That's so disturbing. The all look so happy in thos pictures. That could be any family ... and then the last picture, you can tell Alexis has a black eye. I wonder what happened.

• Heres a video.. http://www.kgw.com/news/slideshows/Alexis-Pounder-81205322.html

• I'm sure they're just as lovely as their daughter

• I too would like to know where Michelle's parents were. The article says these low-lifes lived in a separate downstairs unit, but surely they saw the children!!!

• It always hits a nerve when it comes to children. But i'm pretty sure he's gonna get atleast one good ass whoopin' in prison. Hopefully beat to death. When women are born, they should get a tubal ligation (or some sort of birth control). And when you are able to prove you are financially stable, and can pass a series of tests then you can get a tubal ligation reversal and have children! :-) I bet that would slow down the reproduction rates! Especially among the mentally unstable.

• This is way beyond sick and sad. Being a mom to a 4 year old girl, I just can't imagine why they wpuld do this. Sure I get frustrated with my daughter, but I would NEVER beat, torture, and/or starve her. Parents, if you don't want your kids, give them to someone who does. There are plenty of loving homes out there.

• And you're going to tell me his parents didn't know this was going on in their own home? This dude looks like an inbred loser.

• I guess the way out of leaving unwanted kids at hospitals, fire or police stations isn't working too well. Why must these freaks exert such control and hatred towards their kids. If they are that big of an issue for you, then take them and drop them off where they will at least be safe and fed. For God's sake, start practicing birth control too.

• Amanda, SERIOUSLY!!!! I moved from Florida, which I like to refer to as, "The Pedo State." I'm aware bad things happen everywhere, but I can't help but be shocked when things like this happen so close to Portland, where the crime rate is significantly lower than Florida's. So very sad. That poor little girl. I'm sure she's in a better place now.

• Sadder than words can describe.

• This makes me ashamed to say I live in Oregon. So sick..

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