Police in Chełmno, Poland have launched an investigation after a woman and her three children were found dead in their apartment, likely victims of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Death of Mother and Three Children
This is a very early stage of the investigation. On-site examinations were conducted with the participation of an expert. The bodies of all individuals have been secured for autopsy, which is scheduled for Monday. Neighbors as well as the woman’s brother and sister have been questioned, reported prosecutor Izabela Oliver from the District Prosecutor’s Office in Toruń to Gazeta.pl on Friday morning. On Friday, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Chełmno is expected to formally initiate an investigation into involuntary manslaughter.
At this stage, there is no indication of involvement by third parties, we hear.
“Exceeded Carbon Monoxide Norms”
On Thursday afternoon, the police were notified by the 30-year-old woman’s sister. She reported that she could not contact the woman, and her nieces were not going to school. “Police officers were immediately dispatched to the scene. When no one opened the doors at the apartment on ul. Stare Planty, firefighters were called. The sensors they had immediately indicated exceeded norms of carbon monoxide,” reported the Chełmno County Police Headquarters. The bodies of the 30-year-old woman and her children were found in the apartment: two girls aged 11 and 7, and a 2-year-old boy. The family used a gas heater. The woman lived with her children alone.
Dangerous Carbon Monoxide
“Carbon monoxide is dangerous because it easily binds to hemoglobin in the blood, leading to poisoning, and in further stages, to death. It cannot be detected by human senses as it has no color or odor. It is released during incomplete combustion of fuels when there is a lack of air,” informs the Toruń Provincial Fire Service Headquarters. Firefighters are urging people to install detectors, regularly check the tightness of chimney ducts, and the condition of ventilation in homes.