Linn County Supervisors approve $850,000 settlement with family of woman who died in jail

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Linn County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to approve an $850,000 settlement with the mother of a woman who died in the Linn County Jail in 2022.

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Cristy Caldwell filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Linn County, the Linn County sheriff and jail staffers in 2024 on behalf of her daughter, Malorie Hults. The suit alleged that Hults, 31, did not receive a proper medical screening when she was checked into the jail on March 23, 2022, after being arrested on charges of domestic abuse assault.

The charges stemmed from a 911 call Caldwell made after she came home from work to find Hults fighting with Caldwell’s husband. Hults also attacked Caldwell and knocked her glasses from her face, according to the suit.

Hults had been taking several medications related to mental health, and some for celiac disease and for Guillain-Barre syndrome — an autoimmune disease that had recently been diagnosed — and Caldwell believed the medications were causing her aggressive behavior. Caldwell called 911 hoping Hults would be taken to the hospital, the suit states.

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Hults died on March 24, 2022, after spending the night in a jail cell. According to an investigative report, she died from complications of chronic substance use.

“Malorie was a shining star. She was smart, talented, beautiful. She was kind and caring,” Caldwell said in a statement to The Gazette. “She also suffered from several serious medication conditions. She needed help. I failed her. The Cedar Rapids police officers failed her. The Linn County corrections officers failed her. Every person involved in the situation from beginning to end failed her.”

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Per the settlement agreement approved Wednesday, Linn County will pay Caldwell $850,000 to dismiss the suit against the county without an admission of liability. The agreement was part of the Board of Supervisors’ consent agenda for Wednesday’s meeting, which was approved as published, without additional discussion.

Caldwell plans to work with the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation to use a portion of the settlement funds to create a memorial scholarship in her daughter’s honor: the Malorie Shea Hults Memorial Scholarship for the Advancement of Architectural Studies.

Hults had planned to start a career in architecture, so Caldwell hopes to create a scholarship for students interested in architecture, with preference to students at Kirkwood Community College, according to Caldwell’s lawyer Gary Dickey.

“These past three and a half years have brought sadness, despair, anger, and hate. I am determined to use those as a catalyst to love, understanding, and forgiveness,” Caldwell said in her statement. “I do not hate the people involved, although I have experienced a loss of trust with individuals in those positions. I am disappointed in the system, the lack of accountability, and the absence of transparency.”

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com