Woman in state jail custody dies at Anchorage hospital

ANCHORAGE — A 48-year-old woman arrested Monday on a municipal driving-while-intoxicated charge died Wednesday while in custody of the state Department of Corrections.

The department said Laurel Christine Hunter died just after 3 a.m. at Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage.

Hunter told corrections officials within a day of her booking that she had an acute medical condition. She was housed in a single cell so she could be observed by medical and security staff.

The department said she was found unresponsive in the cell just before 2:30 a.m. Wednesday and taken to the hospital. She died about 45 minutes after she was discovered unresponsive.

Hunter is the sixth person to die in custody this year.

The death will be reviewed by Alaska State Troopers and the state medical examiner’s office.

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