Iowa Department of Public Safety
Larry L. Noble, Commissioner
215 East 7th Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Telephone Number: (515) 725-6182
Facsimile Number: (515) 725-6195

John F. Quinn, Director

DCI Investigates Johnson County Death

Johnson County, IOWA --- On Monday, October 10, 2011, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office made a request to the Iowa County Sheriff to go to a residence in North English and arrest a Crystal Hawkins, a white female, 26 years of age on a warrant/mittimus that requires her to serve 30 days in the Johnson County Jail.

The Iowa County Sheriff’s Office picked Hawkins up that afternoon and brought her to the Johnson County Jail shortly after 1pm.

Upon her arrival and prior to being able to book her in to the jail, Ms. Hawkins became ill and was transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.  Ms. Hawkins was admitted as a patient and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office then obtained a court order that released her from custody until her in-patient treatment was concluded.

On Tuesday, October 11, 2011, the Johnson County Medical Examiner notified the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office that Ms. Hawkins had died while being treated at the University of Iowa Hospitals.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office along with the Iowa County Sheriff’s asked the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation to come in and make an independent investigation into the death of Ms. Hawkins.

The Division of Criminal Investigation is working with the Johnson County Medical Examiner to determine the cause of the death of Ms. Hawkins.

An autopsy was performed on Wednesday, October 12, 2011, at the University Hospitals Decedent Care Center by an Assistant State Medical Examiner.  Final results of the autopsy will not be available for 1-2 months pending the results of lab tests.

To enroll in the DPS E-mail Notification system simply log on to https://dpsemailnotify.iowa.gov and follow the instructions to enroll as a new user.