Allister Adel, former Maricopa County attorney, dies at 45

Former Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel, the first woman elected to that office, died Saturday at age 45.

She had resigned from the office six weeks ago.

Her husband and family confirmed her death, citing “health complications.”

“This May we would have celebrated 20 years of marriage. My family and I are utterly heartbroken by this unimaginable loss. We are so very proud to call Allister wife and mom,” her husband, David DeNitto, said in a statement.

Rachel Mitchell, who replaced Adel as county attorney, said in a statement, "I am heartbroken to learn of Allister’s passing. Her many years of service to our community leaves a legacy that impacted crime victims, first responders, and animals, just to name a few. My thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and this community that she so dearly loved."

Gov. Doug Ducey shared in the public's reaction on Twitter, saying, "The hearts and prayers of Arizonans are with Allister’s family, colleagues and close friends. May she Rest In Peace."

Adel announced her resignation from the office March 21 during investigations by the State Bar of Arizona and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors into her sobriety and absences from office for weeks at a time.

Entered office with agenda for reform

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed Adel as acting county attorney in October 2019 to replace Bill Montgomery, whom Ducey named to a seat on the Arizona Supreme Court.

She was the first woman to hold that position, and then the first to be elected to the office when she won in November 2020.

Adel arrived in the office with a reform agenda intended to revamp an agency viewed by many as overly punitive under Montgomery and his predecessor, Andrew Thomas.

She updated pretrial diversion programs, created a prosecution integrity unit, changed plea policies and created community advisory boards.

Perhaps nothing symbolized her intended change in direction more than her February 2020 decision to fire Juan Martinez, the office’s storied death penalty prosecutor who was accused of sexual harassment and misconduct.

Martinez handled the nationally watched murder trial of Jodi Arias. He later agreed to be disbarred without acknowledging wrongdoing.

“Any inappropriate behavior, any harassment — workplace, sexual or otherwise — will absolutely not be tolerated,” Adel told The Arizona Republic at the time. “The women in the office need to feel safe where they work. They need to know we are taking care of them, protecting them, and empowering them.”

Defense attorney Benjamin Taylor was on the committee the Board of Supervisors asked to interview candidates for the position in 2019. He said the diversion policies Adel implemented have made a real difference in people's lives.

"Being the Maricopa County attorney comes with a lot of stress, and Allister Adel did come with some controversy, but she did propose new policies that benefited victims and defendants," he said. "It's unfortunate this day has come, but there's a lot of people out there who cared for her and saw the good she did over the years."

While Adel moved to update the culture and priorities of her office, she also faced a pressure-packed campaign against Democrat Julie Gunnigle in 2020 to earn a four-year term of her own.

Adel won the election but spent the days after in the hospital after emergency surgery for a blood clot on her brain after a fall in her home days earlier.

Former longtime Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley had mentored and supported Adel earlier in her career.

"I was very saddened to hear of her passing," he said. "My thoughts and prayers are to her husband and her children and her family."

A challenging tenure as county attorney

Adel took over at a time when Phoenix police, by far the largest law enforcement agency reporting to her sprawling office, faced heavy scrutiny for its use of deadly force. Last year, the U.S. Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into the department and the city over its policing practices.

It wasn’t long before Adel faced questions of her own over her office’s decision to charge 15 Black Lives Matter protesters arrested in 2020 as gang members.

An investigation led by former Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Roland Steinle found a breakdown in communication between the County Attorney's Office leadership and the case's lead prosecutor.

Adel ultimately announced she was dropping charges against those protesters. The harsh charges resulted in legal claims against the county totaling more than $100 million from protesters and the lead prosecutor.

Absences and resignation

Adel checked into a rehabilitation facility in August 2021, acknowledging she was seeking treatment for anxiety, alcohol abuse and an eating disorder.

Concerns about her health and fitness for the office were raised again earlier this year. Five top criminal prosecutors in Adel’s office said they had lost confidence in her ability to lead and in a Feb.14 letter called for her to resign.

On March 14, The Republic reported that lawyers in her office forgot to file charges on 180 misdemeanor cases, which had to be dropped when the statute of limitations expired.

Days later, Adel announced she would leave office. She was hospitalized on March 25, which was to be her final day on the job.

First woman elected as top prosecutor

Allister Adel DeNitto was born in Dallas in November 1976 and raised in Texas.

Her father sacrificed to make sure she could attend the prestigious Hockaday School, she said in a 2020 interview with The Republic.

“Down to the point that he may only have $20 in his pocket and he would give it to me,” she said.

Adel said the school’s four cornerstones were still important to her as an adult: character, courtesy, scholarship and athletics.

Seeking to broaden her horizons, Adel left Texas for the University of Arizona, where she earned a degree in political science, with minors in Spanish and criminal justice.

Adel said she knew early on she wanted to make a difference in the legal field but didn’t want to become a police officer or a public defender.

She worked at Maricopa County Superior Court from 1999 to 2001 in criminal court administration. That’s when Adel decided to attend law school with an eye to becoming a prosecutor. She believed the role “is the greatest job an attorney can have.”

She graduated from Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor Law School in 2004, and joined the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office she would later lead.

Adel was a deputy county attorney for seven years, working in the vehicular crimes, gang and drug enforcement bureaus. She said her time as a prosecutor helped her understand how to help victims through the court process.

One of her cases involved a drunken driver who killed Phoenix police Officer Shane Figueroa in 2008. The officer’s parents wrote in a letter to the Board of Supervisors that Adel became a lifelong friend to the family.

“We believe it was divine guidance that brought Allister Adel into our lives at this time,” E. Cory and Jerilyn Figueroa stated.

Adel left the prosecutorial agency to become the chief administrative law judge for the Arizona Department of Transportation.

She later worked as general counsel for the Arizona Department of Child Safety and the executive director for the Maricopa County Bar Association. Adel also had a private firm offering consulting services.

Public officials offer condolences

Several officials, including former Gov. Jan Brewer and Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone, shared their condolences on social media.

"I’m shocked and devastated to learn that my friend, Allister Adel, passed away earlier today. My heart is broken for her husband and two young children that she leaves behind," Brewer said in a tweet. "Please join me in praying for the family as they grieve during this difficult time."

Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone said he and his wife were "deeply saddened" by Adel's passing. "We are holding her children, her family and her friends in our prayers. May she Rest In Peace," he wrote on Twitter.

Gunnigle, who is running for Maricopa County attorney, also offered her condolences to the DeNitto family "as they deal with their loss."

Mass Liberation Arizona, a civil rights organization that pushed strongly for Adel to resign because of her involvement in the gang charges against protesters case, also offered its condolences on Twitter.

"She lost her life to the political machine that didn’t allow her to tend to her own humanity. This kind of preventable loss of life is at the heart of our work," the organization wrote.

U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema echoed her colleagues' sentiments in a tweet. "I’m shocked and saddened to learn of Allister Adel’s sudden passing. Our thoughts are with her family during this incredibly difficult time — may she rest in peace," Sinema wrote.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly said in a tweet: "Saddened to hear the tragic news of Allister Adel's passing. Our thoughts and condolences are with her loved ones. @GabbyGiffords and I wish them comfort during this very difficult time."

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a tweet: "I’m absolutely heartbroken to hear about the passing of our friend Allister Adel. She was not only a wonderful person but a loving wife and mother. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family. May she Rest In Peace."

Bill Gates, Board of Supervisors chairman, tweeted, "I’m devastated by the passing of my friend, Allister Adel. I will forever cherish the conversations we shared & hope she was able to find peace in her final days. My thoughts & prayers are with her family & all who loved her."

Arizona House Democrats' leader Reginald Bolding said in a statement that Adel was “a deeply committed public servant, as well as a loving wife and mother. On behalf of our caucus and staff, I extend our deepest condolences to her husband, children, friends and loved ones during this difficult time.”

Involved in the community

Adel also was involved in the nonprofit and service communities. She helped law enforcement first responders and their families as a board member of the 100 Club of Arizona. Adel also was a member of the ASU Public Service Academy Advisory Board.

Adel's survivors include her husband, David DeNitto, and their two young sons.

Funeral arrangements will be released later, the family said.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Who was Allister Adel? Former Maricopa County attorney dies at 45