SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — Two adults and a 4-year-old child were found dead at a home in Northaven on Friday morning, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said.
A relative of the family identified the victims as Jorge Mejia and Rene Alvarado. The little boy was named Adonai.
The two men were friends and Adonai was Jorge Mejia’s son.
The cause of death appears to be carbon monoxide poisoning, SCSO spokesperson Earle Farrell said.
A running gas-powered generator was reportedly inside the garage at the time. The home did not have a working carbon monoxide detector.
“What happens is, you just go to sleep,” Farrell said of the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning. “It’s sort of like freezing to death. You’re conscious one minute and you slowly drift away and that’s it.”
The three bodies were discovered dead inside a home in the 5000 block of Belfast Drive around 10 a.m. by an MLGW worker. The employee was scheduled to restore power to the home, WREG has learned.
The power had been turned off yesterday but it is unclear why.
Shelby County fire officials warned that running a gas-powered generator inside a home is dangerous.
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