William Deboer, 43, Dies in Jefferson County Jail, CO

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Forty-three-year-old William Edward Deboer was arrested and booked into Golden, Colorado’s Jefferson County Jail on June 30, 2025. At approximately 2 p.m. on July 3, 2025, a detention deputy discovered Mr. Deboer unresponsive in his cell. Five doses of Narcan were administered to Mr. Deboer over the next five minutes while deputies and medical staff were providing continuous cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Fire department personnel and emergency medical services (EMS) arrived to continue lifesaving efforts, but those efforts were unsuccessful. Tragically, William Deboer was pronounced deceased at 2:38 p.m. on July 3.

Mr. Deboer’s death is being investigated by the First Judicial District Law Enforcement Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT). The cause of death will be determined by the coroner’s office.

The address of Jefferson County Jail is 200 Jefferson County Pkwy, Golden, CO 80419. The jail has a 1,392-inmate capacity.

US Jail Statistics: Deaths from Withdrawal and Intoxication

The number of deaths from withdrawal and intoxication within US jails has significantly increased in recent years. The progression for the period included in this study follows:

In 2000, 4% of jail deaths were attributed to drug or alcohol intoxication.
In 2019, 15% of jail deaths were due to drug or alcohol intoxication.
From 2000 to 2019, the number of jail detainees whose deaths were attributed to drug or alcohol intoxication increased by nearly 400%.
Withdrawal deaths are reported less frequently in jail, but, according to the Department of Justice, withdrawal is a potentially fatal risk.
According to one study, in 76% of withdrawal-related deaths in US jails, alcohol was involved.
In other withdrawal deaths studied, opioids were the drugs most commonly involved.

The way that jails categorize deaths related to withdrawal often falls into generic lines, such as, “other” or “illness,” making jail withdrawal deaths difficult to identify. Several factors related to withdrawal deaths highlight the importance of mortality data.

Are Jails Prepared to Meet Demands for Drug and Alcohol Treatment?

Although mortality data from jails often doesn’t show an accurate picture of withdrawal deaths and alcohol and drug intoxication deaths, statistics overall indicate that county and municipal jails are often ill-equipped to prevent them.

An Inmate Dies of Withdrawal Symptoms at a Jefferson County, Arkansas, Jail

Rebecca Brixey, 45, was arrested on public intoxication charges in Jefferson County, Arkansas. Eight days later, on December 8, 2019, she was discovered deceased in her cell at the WC Dub Brassell Adult Detention Center. Authorities say that her cause of death was complications of withdrawal syndrome. The address of WC Dub Brassell Adult Detention Center is 300 E 2nd Ave, Pine Bluff, AR 71601.

Importance of Medical Supervision for Inmates When in Withdrawal

If a person is withdrawing from substances like alcohol and benzodiazepines, it is especially crucial to seek medical supervision. There is a real potential for life-threatening withdrawal symptoms. Monitoring for signs of dehydration is crucial, for instance. Intravenous rehydration can prevent serious complications and death. Dehydration is particularly dangerous during withdrawal for several reasons, as follows:

The volume of cells shrinks if severe dehydration occurs, resulting in cellular death and damage to tissues and organs.
Dehydration can cause hypernatremia during opiate withdrawal. Blood sodium levels become too high if a person has hypernatremia. What happens is fluids are pulled away from vital organs, and the potential results are seizures, heart failure, brain damage, and death.

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