Lisa Marie Ostler
Lisa Ostler, 37, had Crohn's disease and three children, and her parents, Calvin and Kim Ostler, have described her as a loving mother. She was held at the Salt Lake County Jail in March and early April 2016 and died at a hospital in early April 2016 after several days in custody. Her parents' federal lawsuit says she repeatedly asked for help over those days, that jail staff ignored or dismissed her pleas, and that her cries for pain relief were treated as drug withdrawal. A jailer testified that he had been told to ignore her pleas, and the lawsuit argues that required checks were missed. The medical examiner reportedly found she died of peritonitis, an inflammation of the abdomen, which her family attributes to medical neglect; the county settled the lawsuit for $950,000 in 2020 without admitting liability, and the Sheriff's Office declined to comment on the suit.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The medical examiner found she died of peritonitis, but her parents' federal lawsuit says jail staff ignored her pleas for help and treated her cries as drug withdrawal, and other accounts give pancreatitis or a perforated ulcer as the cause.
Reported by: medical examiner or coroner; parents' federal lawsuit, with attorney Rocky Anderson (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: Her parents sued Salt Lake County, jailers and medical staff in federal court in March 2018, and the county settled the lawsuit for $950,000 in 2020.
News reports (6)
- News report
- ‘I’ll bet it feels like you’re going to die, doesn’t it?’ Salt Lake County jailers thought inmate was withdrawing from heroin before her 2016 death, family says.
- Family files lawsuit against SLCO Jail citing lack of medical care caused death
- Salt Lake County pays $950K to settle jail death lawsuit — but inmate’s parents say their fight isn’t over
- Deaths at the Salt Lake County jail: Families of inmates say poor care, callous staff must change