© 2025 KGOU
News and Music for Oklahoma
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Medical Examiner: Cookie Cottage owner Shannon Hanchett died of natural causes, heart defect

Two women walked past the Cookie Cottage in Norman on Dec. 12 where friends and customers of the owner, Shannon Hanchett, placed flowers, candles and cards following her death. Hanchett was was experience mental health issues when Norman police arrested her on Nov. 26 for making false reports to 911 and resisting arrest. On Dec. 8, Hanchett was found not breathing in a cell at the Cleveland County Detention Center where she was being held on a $1,000 bond.
Whitney Bryen
/
Oklahoma Watch
Two women walked past the Cookie Cottage in Norman on Dec. 12 where friends and customers of the owner, Shannon Hanchett, placed flowers, candles and cards following her death. Hanchett was was experience mental health issues when Norman police arrested her on Nov. 26 for making false reports to 911 and resisting arrest. On Dec. 8, Hanchett was found not breathing in a cell at the Cleveland County Detention Center where she was being held on a $1,000 bond.

Months after a local business owner died at the Cleveland County Detention Center late last year, the state’s Chief Medical Examiner has released a report on the cause of her death.

A report released by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner last Friday says 38-year-old Shannon Hanchett, the owner of Norman’s Cookie Cottage, died of natural causes related to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a common form of genetic heart disease.

The report also includes dehydration and psychosis with auditory and visual hallucinations as contributing conditions.

Hanchett was arrested for allegedly making false 911 calls and obstructing an officer. After the bodycam footage of her arrest went viral, several members of the community expressed their concern about Hanchett’s mental state.

She was scheduled for a mental health assessment on the day she died.

KGOU is a community-supported news organization and relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. Donate online, or by contacting our Membership department.

Hannah France joined KGOU as a reporter in 2021, shortly after earning a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. In 2023, Hannah was the first place recipient of the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists' Radio Outstanding Reporter Portfolio award. Hannah reports on a variety of topics including criminal justice, housing, and labor rights and is dedicated to educating and empowering Oklahomans through community storytelling.
More News
Support nonprofit, public service journalism you trust. Give now.