Mystery solved...
From CNN article-link for full article below snip.
"In the holding room, there is a bench with an 'eyehook' on it. The officers took a 'shackle,' which is described as a metal chain, approximately 16 inches long, with a large 'handcuff' on each side. The total length of the chain with handcuffs is approximately 24 inches," the statement said.
"One of the handcuffs on the 'shackle' was attached to the 'eyehook' on the bench. The other handcuff of the shackle was attached to the chain of the handcuffs that were already on Ms. Gotbaum's hands.
"So Ms. Gotbaum was handcuffed with her hands behind her back, and additionally those handcuffs were attached to a shackle that kept her attached to the bench."
Gotbaum was not deemed a threat to herself or others, the police statement said. If she had been, she would have been monitored. Phoenix police policy is that prisoners can be left alone in holding rooms as long as they are checked every 15 minutes.
Hill said Thursday that Gotbaum was left alone for six or eight minutes. Police previously had said it was 15 or 20 minutes.
After officers left, Gotbaum continued to scream, the police statement said. However, police checked on her when she fell silent and found her unconscious. Gotbaum was sitting on the floor, with her head on the bench and the handcuffs under her chin, the police report said.
"Initial information ... indicated that Ms. Gotbaum had somehow worked the handcuffs to the front of her body, probably from under her legs, and had pulled the chain from the shackle across her neck area," the statement said.
Officers used cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a defibrillator and other measures in attempts to save her life. In the police report, an officer said that Gotbaum vomited while CPR was being performed on her and that when she did, he could smell alcohol. Firefighters arrived and pronounced Gotbaum dead.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/05/airport.death/index.html
