originally published at: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100122/ARTICLES/100129779/0/LIFESTYLE
Woman jail inmate dies in apparent suicide
By KERRY BENEFIELD
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Friday, January 22, 2010 at 5:19 p.m.
A 49-year-old Windsor woman arrested for a parole violation was found unconscious, hanging by a sweatshirt in her holding cell Thursday. She later died at a hospital.
Teresa Ellen Hagan, 49, was booked at 1:30 p.m. Thursday for breaking the terms of probation stemming from an earlier arrest for DUI. Hagan was intoxicated when she arrived at the jail and was placed in a padded “sobering” cell, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department.
At 4 p.m., Hagan was moved to a holding cell before she was to be moved to a housing module, according to investigators.
At 6:50 p.m. a deputy spoke with Hagan, who was alone in the holding cell, investigators said.
About 10 minutes later, a correctional deputy found Hagan unconscious and hanging by a sweatshirt which was wrapped through the conduit above the phone on the cell wall and around her neck, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies tried lifesaving efforts until paramedics arrived, investigators said. Efforts to revive Hagan continued in the ambulance that transported her to Kaiser Hospital in Santa Rosa. Hagan was declared dead at the hospital.
The death is being investigated by the Sheriff’s Department violent crimes investigation unit with the assistance of the District Attorney’s office. The cause of death is pending results of an autopsy.
Anyone with information regarding the case before Hagan’s arrest is asked to contact Detective Joe Dullworth at 565-2185.
Staff writer Kerry Benefield can be reached at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com