Overview
- Judith Sheldon, 84, and her husband Wylie, 86, were found unresponsive in a running Jeep Compass parked on the right shoulder of northbound Interstate 5 north of Redding on Monday, June 15, and were pronounced dead at the scene.
- First responders and a friend reported the SUV’s fans were blowing on high while the air conditioning produced no cold air, there was no water in the vehicle, the car had fuel, and investigators found no signs of foul play or mechanical failure.
- The California Highway Patrol and the Shasta County coroner’s office say the deaths ‘appear to be medically related’ and that postmortem examinations and toxicology testing have been scheduled to establish an official cause.
- Judith Sheldon was a longtime San Francisco arts patron and the daughter of director William Wyler, and the couple’s deaths have prompted public mourning and statements from local arts organizations.
- The region was under an extreme heat warning the day they were found, older adults are known to be more vulnerable to heat-related illness, and coroner results can take days to weeks, meaning definitive answers are not immediate.