Overview
- Investigators discovered five people dead in a Richmond residence after neighbors reported carbon monoxide alarms and a neighbor checked the home, with deputies finding the house filled with gas and alarms still sounding.
- The victims are a 43-year-old man and four children, ages 16, 12, 11 and 5, and authorities have not released their names while next-of-kin notifications and coroner work continue.
- Responders found a car running in the garage and reported carbon monoxide levels that exceeded their detection equipment, forcing crews to wait hours before entering and prompting investigators to tow the vehicle for forensic testing.
- Officials say the deaths appear accidental but the probe remains active as toxicology and the medical examiner's reports are pending and investigators continue interviewing relatives and others to build a timeline.
- The community has rallied in grief with students wearing blue and schools offering counseling, and officials urged residents to check or install working carbon monoxide detectors because CO is odorless and can be lethal indoors.