A woman being held at the Erie County Holding Center died in her cell over the weekend. Elizabeth Calaty, 35, of Niagara Falls, was found unresponsive and without a pulse in her cell by a deputy and nurse practitioner on Saturday, shortly before 9 a.m.
Calaty was arrested by Buffalo police on Friday, September 19, on a petit larceny warrant. She was booked into the holding center. An Erie County Sheriff's Office official said deputies determined Calaty should be placed into a detox unit for observation. The same official said Calaty waived a medical visit from staff at 11:45 p.m. on Friday night.
When a deputy and nurse practitioner arrived to Calaty's cell the following morning, on Saturday, they reportedly found her unresponsive and without a pulse.
"CPR immediately commenced, however Calaty was pronounced dead by responding paramedics. There were no obvious signs of trauma. A search of the unit was conducted, and no contraband was discovered," said Chris Horvatits, public information officer for the sheriff's office. "An autopsy was conducted on Monday, and the Medical Examiner's office is awaiting toxicology results to make a determination on cause of death."
Between 2005 and October 2019, there were 28 inmate deaths at the Erie County Holding Center, including suicide deaths. According to the Investigative Post, that number rose to at least 40 by September 2024.
The New York State Attorney General's Office and New York State Commission of Correction have been notified of Calaty's death. The Erie County Sherriff's Office of Special Investigations is also conducting their own probe.
