Niki Capaci
Niki Capaci was a mother of seven and a former registered nurse who started her family young and later became a nurse at 21 to support her children. She died on May 6, 2023 while held at the Orange County Jail in Goshen, New York. The county medical examiner's autopsy lists the cause as an accident from acute drug intoxication, and the state Attorney General's office lists it as an overdose. Her family says she suffered severe opioid withdrawal and medical neglect by jail staff and Wellpath, the jail's health care provider, and has filed a federal lawsuit; the state Commission of Correction report, as described in one source, found staff failed to adequately evaluate her and get further care.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose (disputed; neglect alleged). The Orange County medical examiner ruled it an accident from acute drug intoxication, and the state Attorney General's office lists it as an overdose, but her family's federal lawsuit says jail staff and Wellpath medically neglected her severe opioid withdrawal.
Reported by: Orange County medical examiner (medical examiner or coroner); New York State Office of the Attorney General, Office of Special Investigation (outside investigators); family's federal wrongful death lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: Her family sued Orange County and Wellpath in federal court over her death, and the suit was delayed by Wellpath's bankruptcy filing; no settlement or award amount has been reported.