Lee Esther Anderson
Lee Esther Anderson, 41, was a loving mother, a gifted musician and a former star basketball player at Skyline High School, who later attended San Diego State University and built a songwriting and music production career, according to her family. She died on May 16, 2021, at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California, where she was held. Her family's lawsuit says an independent autopsy found cardiopulmonary arrest complicated by heart disease and fentanyl use, and it blames lax drug detection policies for letting drugs into the jail. An FBI affidavit unsealed in December 2021 says she took fentanyl that a fellow incarcerated woman had brought in and shared with her, and jail officials said she likely died of an overdose and that staff gave Narcan and emergency care. The sheriff's office says it works to keep illicit drugs out of the facility.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose (neglect alleged). Her family's lawsuit says lax drug-detection policies let fentanyl into the jail, and the sheriff's office says it works to keep illicit drugs out.
Reported by: Santa Rita Jail officials (the agency that held her); independent autopsy cited in the family's lawsuit (medical examiner or coroner); family's lawsuit (family or their lawyers); FBI affidavit (outside investigators).
Lawsuit: Her family sued Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern over lax drug detection at Santa Rita Jail, and the county had not yet released her autopsy.