Strangled by Handcuffs at Sky Harbor Airport?

There was an odd death at the Phoenix Airport:

PHOENIX (AP) - A woman late to her plane became irate, was put in handcuffs and was later found dead in a holding cell, police said. Authorities were investigating Saturday if the woman choked herself while trying to get free from the handcuffs.
Carol Ann Gotbaum, 45, of New York, was arrested Friday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after a conflict with gate crews who refused to allow her to board a plane, said Sgt. Andy Hill, a Phoenix police spokesman.

The airline said the plane was already preparing to depart. She was rebooked on the next flight, but "she became extremely irate, apparently running up and down the gate area," US Airways spokesman Derek Hanna said Saturday.

Officers handcuffed her and took her to the holding room, where she kept screaming, authorities said. Hill said officers checked on her when she stopped screaming and found her unresponsive.

Hill said it appears Gotbaum may have tried to get out of her handcuffs, became tangled in the process and the cuffs ended up around her neck. A cause of death will be determined by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner.

"She was very agitated and irate and angry," Hill said. "These are the things that led to the disorderly conduct arrest."

Neither the airline nor the airport officials have stated exactly why the woman was denied boarding, but after watching many episodes of Airline (a reality show involving Southwest Airlines), the most common reason for denied boarding and rebooking on a later flight is intoxication. Most airlines try to give the passenger a little time to sober up before getting on a flight. I have no idea if that was the case in Phoenix, but given the description of the entire episode, it wouldn't surprise me if that's what happened.

UPDATE: More info on the arrest and still no idea what led to the woman's bizarre behavior.

UPDATE 2: This might explain the behavior:

At the same time the family revealed Gotbaum was headed to an alcohol rehabilitation center when the incident began Friday night.