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Facebook PHOENIX  A medical examiner's report released today says 45-year-old Carol Anne Gotbaum died from asphyxia by hanging while in police custody at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Sept. 28. The report also says Gotbaum was acutely intoxicated on alcohol and prescription drugs when she died in a police holding room at the airport. Gotbaum belonged to a New York family that has hired a team of experts to probe her death. The case has drawn national attention to how the Phoenix Police Department handled the case. The autopsy says she died after accidentally strangling herself while in police custody during the airport layover. Gotbaum had been arrested on a disorderly conduct charge after she was kept off a connecting flight that was to bring her to Tucson, where she was to enter an alcohol treatment center. Authorities have said that Gotbaum, who was handcuffed and shackled to a bench in an airport holding room, may have accidentally strangled herself. Police have said they followed proper procedures when dealing with her. Last week, police released documents showing that Gotbaum made a grim, emotional flight to Phoenix and may have ordered a Bloody Mary from a flight attendant, according to witness accounts. Gotbaum broke down several times on her flight from New York and confided to a passenger sitting next to her that she was going to rehab. "Ms. Gotbaum would break into tears during the flight and while they were speaking with each other," according to a police statement describing an account by the passenger, Jodi Hall. According to the account from Hall, "Ms. Gotbaum said that someone would have come with her, but it was her decision to do it on her own." The accounts were among more than 200 pages of documents released Wednesday by the Phoenix police homicide unit, which probed the New York woman's death at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Gotbaum had a layover at the airport during her trip to enter a 30-day rehab program in Tucson. She was arrested for disorderly conduct after she became irate when denied boarding and died later in a holding cell. The documents also show: • When Noah Gotbaum was told of his wife's death by phone, he said, "They killed her, they killed her." • Conflicting reports about whether Gotbaum was drinking before she was arrested. While a member of the flight crew recalls serving Gotbaum a cocktail in the galley, passenger Hall says she didn't see Gotbaum drink alcohol. • Gotbaum was taking medications to battle depression, according to police interviews with an investigator hired by the Gotbaum family. • Betsy Gotbaum, a New York politician and Gotbaum's mother-in-law, called the day of the death and asked police to use Carol Gotbaum's maiden name in police reports to shield the Gotbaum family from publicity. The Gotbaum family's attorney had not seen the report Wednesday, but many of the witness accounts of Gotbaum's emotional state make sense, he said. "This was her first trip to a treatment facility and she was distressed about leaving her kids," said Michael Manning, who represents Gotbaum's husband and three young children. The Gotbaum family, which has been critical of the police, has hired its own team of experts to probe the case. Manning downplayed the drink Gotbaum may have had on the flight, noting that witnesses disagree about that. A spokesman for Betsy Gotbaum, the New York public advocate, which is an elected office, declined to comment Wednesday evening. The homicide unit has wrapped up its probe of the death, and Sgt. Andy Hill says it appears that the police acted appropriately. "All of the witness accounts say that the police did what they had to do," Hill said. An internal investigation into the officers' conduct has not been completed. Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Enlarge Phoenix Police via The Arizona Republic This video grab shows police arresting Carol Anne Gotbaum in the Phoenix airport. An autopsy concludes she accidentally strangled herself. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.