Autopsy Shows Felton Inmate Died of Natural Causes

The autopsy of a Felton woman who died while in custody at Santa Cruz County Main Jail on Aug. 25 revealed that she died of natural causes.

around 9 a.m. Saturday, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Steve Carney said.

Jail staff and paramedics worked to revive her, but their efforts were not successful.

Sanders was arrested on Aug. 12 by Santa Cruz Police. During the booking process at that time, she complained of chest pains and was transported
to Dominican Hospital for evaluation and treatment, the Sheriff’s Office said. She was released and returned to jail later that day.

The Sheriff’s Office said that Sanders was seen by correctional medical staff multiple times while she was in custody before her death.

An autopsy performed on Aug. 27 determined the cause was bilateral pulmonary atelectasis with anoxia, or collapse of the lung, due to intravenous heroin abuse. A toxicology test is being done and results are expected to take six to eight weeks.

“Sheriff’s Office staff is deeply saddened by Christy Sander’s death and our sympathies go out to her family and friends. Ms. Sander’s death also weighs heavily on the women with whom she was incarcerated,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. “Mental health workers from the
County Health Services Agency immediately met with all of the women in the housing unit to discuss the incident and continue to offer them counseling assistance.”

The Sheriff’s Office added that jail administrators are reviewing the facts and circumstances of the case to ensure policies involving medical care and inmate safety continue to be sound.

Jail deaths are rare in the Santa Cruz County jail facilities. Carney said he could think of just two in the past five years; both of those were suicides, he said.

The county jail facilities are managed by the Sheriff's Office. They include Main Jail on Water Street in Santa Cruz—where Sanders was held—as well as the Blaine Street low-security women's facility in Santa Cruz and Rountree, a low-security men's facility outside Watsonville.