Woman died in Va. Beach jail by choking on bracelet

VIRGINIA BEACH

Jacquelynn Diane Schwartz went to court Friday afternoon to show that she'd completed a court-ordered driving safety course after receiving a speeding ticket in April.

Three days later, she was dead in a jail cell.

A sheriff's deputy found the 31-year-old woman unresponsive on her cell bed early Monday, and medics were unable to revive her, police said Tuesday. An autopsy determined that she'd choked on her plastic inmate identification bracelet and ruled her death accidental.

Now Schwartz's family members want to know what happened to the bubbly newlywed, who had just gotten married on June 4 and had never been in serious trouble with the law.

"All of us are in shock and disbelief," said Schwartz's sister-in-law, Audrey La Clair. "It just doesn't make sense."

On April 3, an officer gave Schwartz a ticket, charging her with driving 76 mph in a 55-mph zone, according to General District Court records online. A judge imposed a $150 fine and ordered her to attend driving school, which she completed after the couple returned from their two-week honeymoon in the British Virgin Islands, said Schwartz's husband, David La Clair.

When Schwartz reported to court on Friday to present her certificate, sheriff's deputies said they smelled alcohol on her and administered a breath test, which she failed, David La Clair said.

A judge then ordered her jailed for 10 days for contempt of court, according to online court records.

When David La Clair heard what happened, he drove to the Virginia Beach Correctional Center to see his wife but was told he could not, he said. The couple lived in York-town and worked in Newport News.

They spoke on the phone that night, and Schwartz told La Clair the last alcohol that she'd had to drink had been wine the night before. She sounded scared but otherwise OK, he said.

La Clair hired an attorney, and they got Schwartz's case placed on the docket for Monday, hoping to free her. He was waiting in the courtroom that morning when two police detectives pulled him outside and told him his wife was dead.

Earlier that day, between 5 and 5:30 a.m., Schwartz's cellmate had called for help after a feverish Schwartz started shaking and saying she heard dogs barking in the next cell, La Clair said the detectives told him.

Deputies placed Schwartz in an observation cell, which jail staff monitor via a camera system and, at least twice an hour, in person, said Ashley Lanteigne, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office, which runs the jail.

Less than 90 minutes later, at 6:20 a.m., a deputy found Schwartz unresponsive, police said.

Lanteigne said she couldn't comment on what happened due to the ongoing police investigation. It's unclear whether Schwartz received medical treatment prior to her death.

She had no history of medical or mental health issues, La Clair said.

"I have no idea why they wouldn't call an ambulance when she started exhibiting this erratic behavior," he said. "And I have no idea why they weren't watching the observation cell. And I have no idea why they put her in there alone. And the bottom line is that she isn't with us anymore, my wife of six weeks, and I loved her more than anything."

The Sheriff's Office also is conducting an internal investigation.

"Our hearts go out to the family," Lanteigne said. "It's a very unfortunate incident, but beyond that, at this point we kind of have to wait for the investigation to play out."

Police said they don't suspect foul play.

Schwartz was originally from Prior Lake, Minn., and had five siblings, according to a biography provided by her family. She met her husband in 2001 while earning her bachelor's degree in exercise and wellness at Arizona State University. After graduation, she worked for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Arizona before moving to Virginia with La Clair in 2004, according to the biography.

They'd since started a defense contracting business, Insignia Technology Services, married and planned to have children later this year.

"She had a very bubbly personality," Audrey La Clair said. "A beautiful person. Probably the sweetest person I've ever met."

As David La Clair plans his wife's funeral, he said, he just wants to know what happened.

"She's not a criminal... and she ended up dead in prison," he said. "I'm really just looking for the truth."

He recalled Tuesday the last thing he said to his wife before they hung up on Friday night.

"Everything is going to be OK," he'd told her. "I love you."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com