Mom gets $2.5 million settlement in son’s death at county jail

Published 10:58 am Thursday, August 20, 2026

EVERETT — The mother of a man who died while in detox at the Snohomish County Jail reached a $2.5-million settlement with the county earlier this month.

Sean Hanchett, 32, died after being booked into custody at the jail in December 2022. His mother Peggy Krause, formerly Peggy Hanchett, sued the county, the sheriff’s office and jail staff, on behalf of her son, alleging negligence and civil rights violations in a federal lawsuit filed in January 2025.

The initial complaint alleged correctional staff failed to provide appropriate medical attention to Sean Hanchett as he was going through opioid use withdrawal, court documents said. The lawsuit pointed to policy failures, in addition to funding and staffing shortages that contributed to the conditions resulting in Sean Hanchett’s death, according to the filing.

Ryan Dreveskracht, a Seattle-based attorney representing the Hanchett estate, said the settlement gives the family validation that the jail was in the wrong at the time of Sean Hanchett’s death.

“For Peggy, this is an acknowledgement that mistakes were made and this death could have been prevented and that’s what she wanted out of this,” Dreveskracht told The Daily Herald on Tuesday.

In addition to the financial reparations, Dreveskracht said the jail has also made significant policy reforms in connection to Sean Hanchett’s death.

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the settlement or any policy changes, instead referring all questions to the prosecutor’s office.

“As an accredited facility, the County regularly reviews and updates its jail policies based on operational experience, current case law, and the ongoing balancing of security and safety needs versus the constitutional rights of those under the County’s care,” Bridget Casey, Snohomish County’s chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney, said in an email. “The facts of this specific incident contributed to that process and will help inform the County’s management of its personnel and supervision of inmates.”

For Peggy Krause, it’s a step toward saving other lives.

“She wanted to make sure this didn’t happen again to someone else’s family,” Dreveskracht said.

As part of the settlement, the county did not admit liability or any wrongdoing, according to court documents. The claimants also agreed to drop any additional legal action against other parties named in the case, court records said.

Sean Hanchett was booked into jail just after midnight on Dec. 10, 2022, the lawsuit said. He was diagnosed with opioid use disorder and prescribed Suboxone at an Edmonds hospital before being booked into jail.

The lawsuit alleged Sean Hanchett’s addiction disorder was known to jail staff, because he was previously incarcerated in the jail, but the booking nurse did not include his prescription and he never received it while in jail.

Sean Hanchett was placed into a solitary confinement unit and did not receive any regular medical monitoring, the lawsuit alleged.

Sean Hanchett was found dead next to a puddle of vomit on the afternoon of Dec. 11, court documents said.

Dreveskracht told The Daily Herald a defense expert said Sean Hanchett had likely gone unchecked for much of the day.

“Unfortunately for Mr. Hanchett, he had been deceased for a number of hours before he was discovered,” Dreveskracht said.

Sean Hanchett died of “complications of chronic fentanyl and methamphetamine use,” according to the medical examiner.

The Daily Herald previously reported that a sheriff’s office inquiry found “no fault” in the jail’s medical response, with corrections staff performing inmate welfare checks “timely and in accordance with policy.”

Ian Davis-Leonard: 425-339-3097; ian.davis-leonard@heraldnet.com