![]() ![]() ![]() The deceased woman’s own body had poisoned her. Turns out, environmental carbon monoxide poisoning was a red herring. It was alleged he engineered his wife’s exposure to carbon monoxide, with evaluation of duct showing car exhaust exposure and the prosecution introducing images of ‘soot marks above the vent in her room’ in court. Forward in time and back in North Carolina, there was no evidence of evil engineering by anyone. At least, not one investigators had seen before.Īpproximately 500 miles away and roughly 15 years earlier, an apparent accidental carbon monoxide poisoning of another woman was initially blamed on a faulty gas water heater. Within five years, blame had shifted to the women’s husband and he was convicted of murder. Throughout the home, the fire captain was getting carbon monoxide readings of zero parts per million, and all potential carbon monoxide sources at the location were ruled out. This was not carbon monoxide poisoning. Law enforcement also assisted at the scene, with a detective determining that it was not a carbon monoxide detector that had been triggered during the paramedics’ visit. Over 400 people die in the US from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning each year, where it is the leading cause of non-drug poisoning, with non-fire-associated environmental exposures being the main accidental culprit.Īn OCME investigator worked with the fire marshal to inspect the deceased woman’s home for the carbon monoxide source. Her case was handed over to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) to identify the lethal sequence of events that led to this apparent carbon monoxide poisoning. But 19 hours after paramedics first reached her, she was pronounced dead. For about an hour, medical professionals attempted resuscitation. All further attempts to render aid brought no improvement and she went into cardiac arrest. Then, instead of continued positive progress, she took a turn for the worse. With emergency treatment, she seemed to improve and become more responsive. Initial blood work at the emergency department indicated the patient did not have enough functioning red blood cells or haemoglobin. CO was displacing O 2, tying up haemoglobin and keeping this transport protein in red blood cells from its main job – getting oxygen to tissues. It was 25% – far above a normal value of approximately 2%. En route to the hospital, paramedics used a pulse CO-oximeter to determine their patient’s carboxyhaemoglobin level. Paramedics, suspecting environmental carbon monoxide poisoning and concerned over the indoor air quality, moved their patient outside where she ‘appeared less disoriented’. High carbon monoxide levels can cause disorientation, unconsciousness, coma, cardiorespiratory failure and death. Dizziness, headache, nausea and vomiting are all low-level carbon monoxide exposure symptoms. It was that last type that seemed to correspond to her symptoms. She could not recall what type of alarm it was – burglar, smoke or carbon monoxide. ![]() While paramedics were rendering aid, an alarm rang out inside the woman’s home. 1 Responding paramedics noted additional issues – lack of focus and factual recall, as well as drowsiness. After two days of nausea, dizziness and fatigue, a 60-year old woman in North Carolina, US, called the emergency services to her home. ![]()
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