| NEWS | Death of a Prosecutor Tributes poured in after ex-Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel died. BY KATYA SCHWENK according to her family. Adel was 45 years old, and leaves behind A a husband and two young boys. Her sudden death on April 30 was a shock to many. Condolences have poured in since. “This May we would have celebrated 20 years of marriage,” Adel’s husband, David DeNitto, wrote in a statement that day. “My family and I are utterly heartbroken by this unimaginable loss. We are so very proud to call Allister wife and mom.” Before rising to become Maricopa County’s top prosecutor, Adel, originally from Dallas, worked for years as a lawyer with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, largely tackling vehicular crimes. She served as general counsel for the state’s Department of Child Services and the director of the Maricopa County Bar Association. But it was Adel’s role with the county attorney’s office that would bring her into the limelight. In 2019, the county appointed Adel to fill the vacancy left by Bill Montgomery, who had stepped down to fill a seat on the Arizona Supreme Court. She beat out several other finalists who occupied top jobs at the office, becoming the first woman to serve in the role. Adel put her llister Adel, former Maricopa County Attorney, died late last month from unspecified health complications, Ash Ponders Allister Adel in 2020. name on the ticket for the November 2020 election, when voters chose Montgomery’s successor. During her campaign, Adel promised to bring reforms to a long-embattled office. She won on this platform, narrowly defeating her opponent, Democrat Julie Gunnigle. While in office, Adel did fulfill some of those promises, revamping prose- cution diversion programs and creating a new unit to review prosecutorial misconduct. But her time at the county attorney’s office was also marked by scandal. Her office came under fire in the weeks after Adel was elected for levying gang charges against Black Lives Matter protesters. After months of outcry, the charges were ultimately dropped. Over the next year, Adel faced growing calls to resign over absences from the office and mishandled cases, including from within the ranks of the office. She ulti- mately did so, submitting her resignation on March 25. Adel had faced health issues in recent months. On election day in November 2020, she was hospitalized for a brain injury after a fall in her home. In fall 2021, Adel announced she had checked into a rehabilitation facility for an eating disorder and for alcohol abuse. Adel’s family said she passed away from “health complications” without further details, requesting privacy from the public and media. “I know it has not been a simple path for her,” said one county supervisor, Steve Gallardo, as the county leadership reflected on Adel’s death at a Monday meeting. “There were personal issues she had to deal with, and I understand that. But you cannot ever anticipate something like this happening. She was a friend, a colleague.” “In light of the recent events, all I wanted more than anything was for her to have good health,” said Thomas >> p 14 11 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES MAY 12TH– MAY 18TH, 2022
