Susan Denise Atkins
Susan Denise Atkins, 61, died on September 24, 2009, at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, where she had been held for decades. According to Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, she died of brain cancer, which she had been treated for since it was diagnosed in 2008. Her husband, James Whitehouse, an attorney who represented her at parole hearings, has said she became a born-again Christian and worked to help at-risk youth and homeless children. In 2008 she had asked for compassionate release, which the state parole board denied, and the Madera County coroner's office was to determine the official cause of death after reviewing her medical history.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness
Reported by: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (Terry Thornton, spokeswoman) (the agency that held her). The only account of how this person died comes from the agency that held her.