Married Couple Die Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning In Virginia

A married couple was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning last Thursday in their apartment in a public housing complex in Portsmouth, Va., according to The Pilot.

http://hamptonroads.com/2012/06/couple-dead-portsmouth-carbon-monoxide-may-be-cause

The deaths of Leroy and Inez Stith, both 65, was perplexing because each unit in their Swanson Homes apartment complex has carbon monoxide detectors, the Portsmouth Redevelopment & Housing Authority told The Pilot. These detectors plug in, but also have a battery back-up. Why didn’t they work for the Stiths?

The husband and wife had apparently been getting high levels of carbon monoxide for at least a month, since they had been telling neighbors for around a month that they felt sick. In fact, The Pilot reported, the wife had been to see a doctors two days before her death.

Authorities evacuated the building that the victims lived in, and the gas company shut off the gas to it.