"She's dead Jim."
Posted on 10/12/2007 2:53:41 PM PDT by Froufrou
Carol Anne Gotbaum, 45, was on her way to alcohol rehabilitation in Tucson when she was arrested after causing a disturbance during a stopover at Sky Harbor. Authorities said Carol Gotbaum, who had become upset over missing her connecting flight, was shackled and left in an airport holding room and found unconscious minutes later.
Noah Gotbaum, a member of a prominent New York City family, had called the airport three times that afternoon, telling officials he was concerned about his wife's whereabouts because she was depressed and suicidal.
Gotbaum's Arrest Records of the time of the calls indicate she was already dead more than an hour before his first call was made at 4:39 p.m. Transcripts of the three calls had been released last week.
He was notified about his wife's death shortly after his third call to the airport, which came around 6 p.m., officials said Thursday.
Sgt. Andy Hill, a Phoenix police spokesman, said it's not uncommon to delay notifying relatives about a death.
"We want to notify them as soon as we can, but we also want to have information to give them,'' Hill said.
Typically an investigative supervisor notifies the family about a death or assigns someone to do so, Hill said. The officer who took Gotbaum's calls would not have been authorized to give out that information, Hill said.
The Maricopa County medical examiner has not determined how she died, but the case has drawn national attention to how Phoenix police handled the incident.
Noah Gotbaum is the son of a prominent New York labor leader and stepson of Betsy Gotbaum, the city's public advocate, an elected position that involves helping improve services to citizens.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Wouldn’t they first need to verify that he really was her husband?
Had to get the stories straight and rehearsed.
“...hey, let’s get Mikey to do it!”
I am still trying to figure out if people were so concerned about her mental state and she clearly had problems then why was she traveling alone?
If I had a nickel for every story I heard in the rooms of people getting loaded before showing up for rehab...
If Mr. Gotbaum was so terribly concerned for his wife, and it certainly sounds like she was a mess, why couldn’t he have had someone escort her to the airport and see her onto her flight sober? I am assuming “prominent” here means having money to burn.
That said, airport security should have people in their holding cells under continual observation, it’s not like they’re going to be kept there long.
"She's dead Jim."
For the life of me, I do not understand why this “prominent” and wealthy New York family could not provide a nurse/caregiver to accompany the troubled young woman on her long trip to the rehab hospital. This was terribly irresponsible of the husband and the mother-in-law, and anyone else who cared about the poor thing.
Only two hours through a New York bureaucracy???
That’s actually pretty good.
Ooops!
I mean Pheonix.
So?
That’s nothing! When my Dad died in Vietnam, it took 1 1/2 days for word to reach us...the person who initially took the call in the Command Post didn’t understand it & didn’t pass it on.
If this guy was so worried, why didn’t he pay someone to accompany her (assuming he is too much of a big shot to go with her himself)?
Damn, if they had notified him earlier, mebbe something could of been done!
How many top-rated alcohol rehab facilities in or near New York City must there be? Why was this poor sick woman sent so far away all by herself?
And, if the husband had been told sooner, she would have survived?
Seems to me this was the first mistake. A family member should have traveling with her.
Excellent question. I heard the tape of the husband talking to the airport, insisting that she not be left alone. So....
She was probably headed to Palo Verde, known around here as the rehab center for the stars. It’s got a solid reputation for keeping a person’s anonymity (unless of course they break out and get busted for driving down the wrong side of the road at 2AM), and actually doing a good job of getting people dry. It’s also not far from the fat farm of the stars, there’s a couple of convenience stores on the east side of town that are great for autograph seekers.
Gee, I wonder if he’ll sue?
Hippocrites, all.
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