NorCo Exec Tara Zrinski has confirmed that, over the past 10 days, there have been two suicides at the jail. The names of the deceased are being withheld until next of kin are notified and Coroner Zach Lysek completes his investigation. I will update this story with more details as they are known. I am told by a source (the mother of an inmate) that the deaths include one male and one female and they were days apart.
According to a news release from Coroner Zach Lysek,
"One of the individuals is Katelyn M. Godiska, a 34-year-old woman from Bethlehem, PA. On June 14, 2026, she was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital, Easton Campus from the prison, where she was pronounced deceased. The cause of death was Asphyxiation, and the manner of death was Suicide.
"The other individual is Randolph P. Adams, a 35-year-old man from Bethlehem, PA. On June 19, 2026, he was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital, Easton Campus from the prison, where he was pronounced deceased. The cause of death was Asphyxiation, and the manner of death was Suicide."
According to her obituary, Godiska was "a bright and gifted graduate of Nazareth Area High School, where she also excelled in Lacrosse. Kate was working for Nick’s On Main, of Bethlehem. She was known for her artistic creativity, vibrant imagination, and ability to bring beauty and inspiration to those around her. Kate had unconditional love for her family and held a strong bond with her siblings."
Godiska was in jail because she was unable to post $75,000 bond after being charged by Bethlehem police with aggravated assault and related offenses. She was still awaiting her preliminary hearing., which would have taken place today.
Like Godiska, Adams was in jail because he was unable to post $50,000 bond after being charged by Palmer Tp police with robbery of a motor vehicle, theft and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
When there is a suicide at the jail, it goes into lockdown. Inmates are stuck in their cells and only allowed out for showers and meals. Given that a high number are already suffering from serious mental illness, this policy should be reconsidered. According to Truthout, lockdowns are considered more severe than solitary confinement because of the lack of structure. They cause or exacerbate anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other mental health issues
(Originally posted 6/22/26 at 1:56 pm.)
Well this is a sad state of affairs. Sorry to see young people with half of their lives to go cut it short out of desperation.
ReplyDeleteThis wasn’t desperation. This was probably one brief moment of clarity. Seeing what the rest of your life really looks like can trigger that sort of response.
DeleteWhat a lovely person you must be.
DeleteBut they were such good people and citizens.............................
ReplyDeleteI believe you just demonstrated what a good person you are.
DeleteSo, you further punish all the other inmates because of these two's actions. Makes perfect sense in norco
ReplyDeleteBoth belonged in alcohol and drug treatment centers rather than jail cells!
ReplyDeleteThe prison goes into lockdown to rule out homicide or foul play. An investigation has to be conducted without 500 inmates mucking about.
ReplyDeleteNot all apparent suicides are suicides, especially in a prison setting.
A compromise would be to lock down the tier where the incident occurred.
7:30, Yes, you are right that every death at a jail needs an investigation. I believe this lockdown might have gone on a bit too long, and your suggestion is a good one. The prison advisory board should seek to limit lockdown durations to be as brief or as specific in area as possible. .
DeleteLol. Lock down for suicides. Just try lock down for lack of staff. No one cares about anyone behind those walls. The inmates or the COs.
DeleteLike all county department the jail is in very bad shape. Like all county departments it needs help. Remember the jail takes care of humans just like gracedale. The public might not care about those humans the way they care about the people at gracedale but they are still people. Trust me the tax payers will care.
ReplyDeleteTwo suicides?
ReplyDeleteDid they find out they were getting transferred to Gracedale?
Epstiened!
ReplyDeleteThis comment is antisemitism
DeleteThere was a suicide in Lehigh yesterday as well.
ReplyDeleteThe Jail is so short staffed causing typically 4 or 5 mandatory shifts per week. Thats 80 hours a week!! The C.O.'s are so tired and overworked its no wonder this doesnt start happening more often. The jail is constantly locked down and inmates cant reach their loved ones. The quality of Officer has also declined over the years. I wouldnt want most of these people making my coffee yet alone putting trust in others lives. Shame on the county for trying to save a few bucks and not pay what surrounding counties are getting paid. This is the result. I hope the families of both, use this information to their advantage.
ReplyDeleteI know the COs are , for the most part, very dedicated and highly professional. Over the years, they have prevented several suicides.
DeleteThis why you see these high yearly salary. Because COs are working 60 to 80 hour work weeks. And most not by choice.
DeleteNo family life.
Mental health shot!
Physically exhausted!
And then you have people just talking about how much they make. It's not from working 40 hour work weeks.
I wish someone wanted to help or even tell the story about what is going on.
Someone needs to get in there and do a voter registration drive.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Trunp is going to need the votes. Idiot!
DeletePrayers for mercy from God for those two young souls. Prayers also for Northampton County. It is my opinion that saying “Be careful what we wish for, you just might get it” is probably a constant in Tara’s head these days. She certainly won’t admit it, however.
ReplyDeleteBernie as taxpayers and voters what can we do to help fix our broken county? Gracedale? Jail? Etc.?
ReplyDeleteSuspects are presumed innocent. As a Lehigh County warden told me years ago, “Many of the inmates are innocent people awaiting trial.”
ReplyDeleteMany Americans don’t get that, understandably, because some people are in and out of jail a lot. Still it’s our system.
Tell me you are racist without telling me you are racist.
DeleteWhat?? Your comment makes no sense. Who brought race into it?? Seriously!!!
DeleteWhat?? Your comment makes no sense. Who brought race into it?? Seriously!!!
DeleteI see lot of sugesstions on how to resolve this sad result. But how about additional resources for Pretrial? I do not agree with the no cash bail crowd but the initial disposition of a charged person should be based on the recommendation and review of pretrial. They are experinced and trained to provide accurate information to the judiciary. It is still up to the magisterial judges. Sorry but don't elect your favorite barber as the MDJ. Hopefully those days are over.
ReplyDeleteThis is why my parents told me to keep my nose clean and stay out of jail.
ReplyDeleteWhen the families sue the county and cost them Millions, ( remember how much the city of Bethlehem paid out for burning that house down with somebody in it?) who's going to be at fault here? Is it the county executive for not properly staffing the prison? The prison administration for not conveying the true dire state the prison is in to the county executive and accepting the fact that these officers are overworked and exhausted? Or the officers that failed to do the proper checks, because they are mentally spent from countless 16 hour shifts in a row?
ReplyDeleteLook, corrections is a tough business. In the state prison system it's a round every half hour during lockup. It' takes about 6 to 8 minutes to kill yourself. Screening at intake helps, but these folks are the biggest manipulators on the planet, so it's not easy to spot a suicide risk. It happens even if everyone is doing their job. If you're determined to kill yourself it's nearly impossible to stop.
ReplyDelete