PHOENIX -- A 45-year-old woman who died in a police holding room at Sky Harbor Airport while apparently struggling with her handcuffs was also shackled to a bench, police said on Monday.
It was also learned Carol Ann Gotbaum, 45, on her way to Tucson for an alcohol rehabilitation program, the family lawyer said.
VIDEO: Mystery Surrounds Flier's Death"I can't confirm that she had alcoholism, but that certainly is my assumption," said Michael Manning, who was hired by Carol Anne Gotbaum's family over the weekend to monitor the police investigation.
In a statement released on Monday, Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill said Gotbaum had been shackled to a bench as well as being handcuffed. The shackle's chain ran from an eyehook and the other was connected to the chain on Gotbaum's handcuffs.
When police found her, Gotbaum had her hands in front of her with the shackle still attached. The chain wasn't wrapped around her neck but it was pulled "against the front of her neck area" Hill said in the statement.
Hill said a medical examiner will have to make a final determination as to the manner and cause of death.
Manning told CBS 5 News that he plans to send a representative to watch the county medical examiner's autopsy of Gotbaum's body on Tuesday. He'll conduct his own inquiry as to whether police followed proper procedure.
"It doesn't make any sense," he said. "She was handcuffed behind her back and shackled to a table. It doesn't make sense that she could have physically managed to strangle herself."
Family Searches For AnswersGotbaum is the stepdaughter-in-law of New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum.
"We are extraordinarily upset," said Gotbaum.
Gotbaum spoke briefly to media across the street from her Manhattan building on Sunday.
"It's obviously very, very difficult for us, we are dealing with it as best we can. My number one focus is those children and my stepson. I hope the press will consider our feelings and please, please, please don't ask us any more questions," she said.
She added that her daughter-in-law had three young children.
The flier went into medical distress and lost consciousness, Hill said.
Officers administered CPR and firefighters joined in when they arrived at Terminal 4, but their sustained efforts could not revive her.
According to witnesses, Friday afternoon's incident at Sky Harbor International Airport began when Gotbaum was unable to board her flight and started arguing with a gate attendant, Hill said.
Gotbaum was denied entry to a US Airways Express flight headed to Tucson because she was late arriving at the gate and the plane was already preparing to depart, US Airways spokesman Derek Hanna said Saturday.
She was rebooked on the next flight, but "she became extremely irate, apparently running up and down the gate area."
A number of witnesses told officers they observed Gotbaum yelling and screaming while running through the terminal, according to Hill.
Two officers who initially responded approached her as she was going past the security checkpoint area back into the terminal, Hill said.
The officers were not able to calm Gotbaum and eventually arrested her for disorderly conduct, Hill said.
Woman Enraged, Witnesses SayGotbaum initially resisted being handcuffed, but she was finally taken into custody near the security checkpoint, according to Hill.
The woman was whisked to a police holding room office in terminal 4.
A number of police employees were in the room at the time, Hill said. Gotbaum was placed in an individual holding room by herself in handcuffs.
When officers outside the door did not hear her voice, they went in to check on her.
Officers said they found Gotbaum unconscious with her hands "pressed against her neck area," Hill said.
Second Airport Scare In Two DaysOn Thursday, firefighters and police officers revived a 68-year-old woman who collapsed at Sky Harbor as she waited for a shuttle bus.
Airport spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez said the woman was unresponsive and not breathing after she collapsed.
Officers at the scene began chest compressions and rescue breathing and used an automated external defibrillator that had been on a wall.
When firefighters arrived, they used the defibrillator again, and that's when the woman's pulse returned.
She was the 17th person to be saved by an automated external defibrillator since the devices were installed at the airport in late 2000.
ELSEWHERE ON KPHO.COM: The death of a man who agreed to plead guilty in a plot to extort more than $1 million from Tom Cruise has officially been ruled a suicide by hanging. CLICK HERE for details. Copyright 2009 by KPHO.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
