May Have Strangled Trying To Escape Handcuffs

Officials are trying to determine what led an irate woman to strangle herself to death in a holding cell at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix last week.

The Associated Press reports Carol Ann Gotbaum, 45, was arrested Friday night, after she became angry when gate crews refused to let her board her US Airways flight. The airline says she was late, and the plane was preparing to depart.

US Airways spokesman Derek Hanna said Gotbaum was rebooked on a later flight, but that wasn't good enough. "...[S]he became extremely irate, apparently running up and down the gate area," Hanna said Saturday.

And, as they say, that's when the police came. Officers handcuffed her and took her to a holding cell, with Gotbaum screaming the entire time. When she quieted down, officers checked in on her... and found her unresponsive, with the handcuffs around her neck.

Authorities believe the woman may have strangled herself trying to get out of the handcuffs, according to Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill.

"She was very agitated and irate and angry," Hill said. "These are the things that led to the disorderly conduct arrest."

A coroner will rule on the final cause of death.

FMI: www.phoenix.gov/aviation