A 45-year-old woman was found unresponsive in her cell at the Jefferson County Detention Facility early Wednesday, and she died less than an hour later despite repeated attempts to revive her, according to county officials. Deputies, on-site medical staff, and Golden Fire and EMS cycled through CPR and Narcan, but the in-custody death is now in the hands of outside investigators and the county coroner.
What happened
Per a Jefferson County Sheriff's Office press release, deputies found Jolene Dorothea Mathiesen unresponsive in her bunk shortly after 4:15 a.m. Wednesday during routine checks. Jail staff immediately started CPR and administered Narcan while waiting for Golden Fire and EMS, who continued resuscitation efforts. Mathiesen was pronounced dead at 4:56 a.m.
Mathiesen had been booked into the jail on Monday after Lakewood police arrested her on a probation violation related to child-abuse charges, according to KKTV. The sheriff’s office did not release further details about the underlying case as the CIRT investigation gets underway.
Investigation and next steps
The First Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team has been called in to investigate the in-custody death, and the Jefferson County Coroner's Office will determine the cause and manner, according to The Denver Post. The sheriff's office has posted only a short notice and Mathiesen's booking photo online and is otherwise keeping quiet for now.
Officials say more details will come after the coroner finishes the review and the CIRT team wraps its work, a process that can move more slowly than the public might like but is standard in these cases.
Local context
Jail deaths in Jefferson County have been under a microscope in recent years. In one high-profile case, the family of Ashley Jo Raisbeck, who died in December 2023 while in the jail's detox program, announced plans to sue and demanded more transparency, according to Denver7. That reporting notes that CIRT findings are typically turned over to the district attorney for review, a step that can stretch on for months.
For now, investigators are asking for patience while they finish interviews and lab work. The coroner’s report will ultimately spell out the official cause and manner of Mathiesen’s death, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said. Officials have pledged to share updates through their regular public channels as the CIRT and coroner reviews move forward.
