Cindy Lou Hill
Cindy Lou Hill, 55, was held at the Spokane County Jail in August 2018. She complained of severe abdominal pain on August 25, was moved to the medical wing, and was found without a pulse that evening, and she was pronounced dead at a hospital. The medical examiner's office attributed her death to peritonitis from a ruptured intestine. Her estate, through a federal lawsuit, argued she needed emergency care and that her death could have been avoided; a jury awarded the estate $27 million in 2022 and the county later sued NaphCare over attorney fees, while the county has said its medical contractor was responsible for care.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The medical examiner's office ruled she died of peritonitis from a ruptured intestine, while her estate's lawsuit says jail staff and NaphCare failed to get her emergency care for severe abdominal pain, and a federal jury found the county liable in 2022.
Reported by: medical examiner's office (medical examiner or coroner); Hill's estate, in its lawsuit against Spokane County and NaphCare (family or their lawyers); federal jury.
Lawsuit: Her estate sued Spokane County and NaphCare in federal court, a jury in July 2022 awarded the estate $27 million, and in 2025 the county sued NaphCare to recover the company's share of the attorney fees the county paid.
News reports (6)
- Man died by choking on vomit in Spokane County Jail - The Spokesman-Review
- After eight deaths in 14 months inside the Spokane County Jail, families rally outside the courthouse
- Spokane County found liable in jail death following destruction of surveillance video
- More than 6 hours of Spokane County Jail video was intentionally overwritten after 2018 death - The Spokesman-Review
- Jury awards $27 million to the estate of woman who died in Spokane County Jail - The Spokesman-Review
- Spokane County files suit against jail contractor seeking reimbursement related to $27 million wrongful death decision - The Spokesman-Review