Blair Austin Nelson
Blair Austin Nelson, 42, a Wenatchee woman, died in November 2021 at the Chelan County Regional Justice Center, where she had been held after being booked into the jail. Jail staff said deputies found her unresponsive in her isolation cell while serving dinner, and she was declared dead at the scene. Her family's federal lawsuit says she did not receive adequate medical care for alcohol withdrawal and that her cell was not checked for more than four hours before she was found. The jail disputed the family's account of the medication she was given, and the case settled for $2.5 million in April 2024. The coroner's cause of death was still under investigation at the time of the first reports.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). Her family's federal lawsuit says jail staff gave her inadequate medical care for alcohol withdrawal and did not check her cell for more than four hours before finding her dead; the jail disputed the family's account of the medication given, and the coroner's cause of death remains under investigation.
Reported by: Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris (medical examiner or coroner); Her family's federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Chelan County jail staff (the agency that held her).
Lawsuit: Her family sued in federal court over her death and settled for $2.5 million in April 2024.