Water heater blamed for death of Iowa family in Mexico had rusted in humid climate, police say

[Judi Lynn]

Water heater blamed for death of Iowa family in Mexico had rusted in humid climate, police say
USA TODAY NETWORK
Kevin Hardy, The Des Moines Register
Published 10:46 p.m. ET April 4, 2018




TULUM, Mexico — Propane from a faulty water heater asphyxiated an Iowa family that died during spring break, Mexican police said.

In an interview Wednesday with The Des Moines Register, Christopher Martínez, the main investigator on the case for the Fiscalia General Office in the Tulum municipality, laid out what police know of the last days of Kevin, Amy, Sterling and Adrianna Sharp of Creston, Iowa.

The family had been staying at the luxury Tao Mexico vacation community near Akumal, on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, when they died.

The initial autopsies, conducted in nearby Playa del Carmen, show the four Iowans died of asphyxiation from propane inhalation, he said. The water heater in the condominium, which used liquid propane for fuel, had rusted in the humid Caribbean climate.

More:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/04/04/iowa-family-death-mexico-rusty-water-heater/488011002/

LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142030114