Authorities have identified the four people who were found inside a Toledo home on Wednesday morning, all presumed dead of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Tamara McDaniel, 39, was found along with Damien Reyes, 18, Domonique Reyes, 16, and Taralynn Wood, 10.
Taraylnn is listed as a fourth-grade student at Marshall Elementary School in Toledo, while Damien was a senior at Waite High School.
According to Toledo police, it appeared the four were overcome by fumes from a portable generator that had been operating in the kitchen of the home.
"It appears accidental," Toledo Police Sgt. Tim Noble said.
VIDEO: Sgt. Phil Toney at the scene
The victims, which also included a pet dog, were pronounced dead at 10:30 a.m. at 1319 Hamilton St. by the Lucas County Coroner’s Office, according to coroner’s investigator Steve Kahle.
Bodies of the four people were found close to each other on the first floor of the house.
“Judging by the positions of the bodies as they were found, basically it appears that they died in their sleep,” Mr. Kahle.
The bodies were found Wednesday morning by the landlord, who had stopped by to retrieve the power generator that he had dropped off the night before, about 9 p.m.. By the time Mr. Kahle arrived at the scene later in the morning, the landlord had disconnected the generator, removed it from the house, and loaded it on his pickup truck, the investigator said.
One of the family members, who Wednesday afternoon were at the Lucas County Coroner’s office to identify the bodies, fainted and was taken to the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital, for severe distress
Autopsies are tentatively scheduled for Thursday.
A man who claims to own the home said he had been renting the property out to the victims. The man, who declined to give his name at the scene on Wednesday, said he discovered the bodies.
The Lucas County Auditor’s Web site lists Steven Snow as the owner of the house, which was built in 1894. A woman who answered at his home Wednesday afternoon closed the door on a Blade reporter.
Police have in their possession a power generator that may have been used inside the house. The house did not have electricity, gas, or water, authorities confirmed.
Ellen Raines, a spokesman with FirstEnergy Corp., said on Wednesday that power was disconnected to the home in January, 2008 as a move out. She said there has not been a subsequent request for power to be turned back on there.
Chris Kozak, a Columbia Gas spokesman, said the property had not had natural gas since Dec. 26, 2007. It had been turned off then at the request of a tenant.
A property owner inquired in January, 2008, how much it would cost to return heat to the home.
Mr. Kozak said less than $200 was owed on a former heat bill.
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First Published March 23, 2011, 3:30 p.m.
