Share

Carol Gotbaum's death is still a mystery. The 45 year old mother of three and stepdaughter in law of Betsy Gotbaum, New York's public advocate,was on her way to an alcohol rehab when she had a kniption fit at the Phoenix airport. Apparently, she got snappy with security when they wouldn't let her on her flight because she was late (I've gotten snappy with security more than once myself. I was particurally pissed off when a man at security confiscated my large bottle of spray deodorant.)

I've never gone so far as scream that I wasn't a terrorist or make a scene loud enough to land myself in jail. In any case, somehow Gotbaum's fit led her into custody and into a cell where she mysteriously died. Questions remain about whether she was "manhandled" by police, and it is curious whether police brutality played a part in her death. A close friend of mine is a photographer for a major newspaper and she often photographs people that are coming out of police custody. She has told me numerous times that people often don't come out as they go in... they are often bruised. But being manhandled is a lot different than being murdered, so we really have a mystery on our hands. I'm curious if Gotbaum was sober and what could have been in her body other than alcohol. Stay tuned or if you know the latest scoop, make a comment.

—Janine Avril