Police Widen Probe In N.C. Hotel Carbon Monoxide Deaths

Police in North Carolina have broadened their investigation the deaths of  three guests of carbon monoxide poisoning at a hotel, now looking at two additional hotels owned by the same company, according to WRAL.

http://www.wral.com/boone-hotel-carbon-monoxide-death-probe-continues/12634505/

Authorities in Boone, N.C., said that their probe of the April 16 deaths of Daryl Jenkins and his wife Shirley Mae, and the June 8 death of Jeffrey Williams, 11, will continue into July, the TV station reported. The three victims died after staying in the same room at the Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza. The hotel has been closed since Williams’ death.

AJD Investments owns the Best Western as well as the Sleep Inn and Country Inns & Suites in Boone, and all three hotels are managed by Appalachian Hospitality Management, WRAL reported.

Police are now collecting records from the Sleep Inn and Country Inns, and questioning employees at both establishments. That’s because all three hotels shared workers and equipment, according to WRAL.

Once police finish their investigation, they will submit their findings to the local district attorney to see if criminal charges should be brought.

Authorities blame a malfunctioning pool heater for releasing fatal doses of carbon monoxide at the Best Western. The Watauga County Medical Examiner has resigned over his handling, or alleged mishandling, of the three deaths at the hotel.

He didn’t look at the bodies of the three victims at the scene, and didn’t order expedited tests to confirm that the first two people, the elderly married couple, had died of carbon monoxide poisoning, according to WRAL. Then the hotel still rented out the room where they had died, leading to the death of Williams and injury to his mother, Jeannie Williams.

Because of the carbon monoxide she breathed in, and rendered her unconscious, the woman can only walk using a walker, and she is trying to get back the full use of her arms and legs, WRAL reported.