Woman's Bizarre Airport Death Probed

Authorities are investigating the bizarre death of a 45-year-old mother of three in a holding cell at the Phoenix airport.

Carol Anne Gotbaum may have accidentally choked herself to death while handcuffed in the cell at Sky Harbor International Airport.

Gotbaum, a relative of New York City's public advocate, was arrested Friday at after she became irate when gate crews refused to let her board a flight for which she was late, officials said.

The events that led to Gotbaum's death began when she became irate over not being allowed on a US Airways flight to Tucson, though she was rebooked on a later flight, officials said.

Gotbaum was wrestled to the ground as she fought back, reports CBS News correspondent Meg Oliver. She was subdued, handcuffed, and led away screaming, "I am not a terrorist!"

Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill told CBS' The Early Show people were telling police that a woman was yelling and screaming and running around the concourse.

"That certainly was, you know, outrageous behavior, and that's why we responded and she ended up getting arrested, yes," said Hill, who offered his condolences to the Gotbaum family.

Officers took her to the holding room, where she kept screaming, authorities said. They checked on her when she became quiet and found her unresponsive, said Hill.

"We have a policy that requires we check on them at least once every 15 minutes and the officers did that, Hill said. "Within five to 10 minutes, she was alone and she had been yelling and screaming, but when the officers recognized that her yelling and screaming stopped, they went to check on her."

It appears Gotbaum may have tried to get out of her handcuffs, which ended up around her neck, Hill said. A medical examiner will determine the cause of death.

"In my 23 years, I have not come across something like this before," Hill told the New York Post.

"She was a wonderful mother; she was sweet and kind and loving," said public advocate Betsy Gotbaum, the woman's stepmother-in-law. "It's obviously very, very difficult for us; we are dealing with it as best we can. My No. 1 focus is those children and my stepson."

She also pleaded with the press for privacy.

The New York City public advocate helps solve residents' problems with government and acts as a watchdog over city agencies.

Neither a stun gun nor pepper spray was used on the woman, authorities said.