Four children and a man were found dead inside a Utah apartment Saturday after neighbors heard carbon monoxide alarms sounding for hours, leading to a heartbreaking discovery that authorities believe may have been caused by a vehicle left running in an attached garage.
The victims, a 43-year-old man and four children ages 16, 12, 11 and 5, were discovered October 10 inside a triplex in Richmond, a small community in northern Utah near the Idaho border.
The tragedy unfolded when neighbors became concerned about alarms that had been sounding for an extended period without anyone responding. One neighbor eventually entered the apartment to investigate and discovered the adult man dead in the garage.
Cache County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the property in the 300 block of Main Street around 12:15 p.m. When emergency responders entered the residence, they found four more victims in different areas of the home.
The children included two boys, ages 16 and 11, and two girls, ages 12 and 5. All five people were pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities quickly evacuated the two neighboring apartments as firefighters discovered dangerously high concentrations of carbon monoxide inside the affected residence.
Cache County Sheriff Chad Jensen told KSL that the gas levels were so extreme they exceeded the measuring capacity of the equipment used by emergency crews.
“It was high enough that it was off their reader,” Jensen explained.
Investigators also discovered a vehicle still running inside the garage, near where the adult victim was found. The discovery has become a central focus of the investigation, with authorities examining whether exhaust fumes entered the living spaces and caused the deaths.
Rick Pool, a longtime resident of the apartment complex, said neighbors had initially approached him earlier that morning because alarms were sounding in the adjoining unit.
After growing concerned that nobody was responding, Pool went to check on the occupants. What he discovered left him shaken.
“I didn’t ever dream something like that would happen here,” he told KSL.
Pool was also exposed to elevated carbon monoxide levels during the incident and was transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation. He was later released.
Sheriff Jensen said the home had been rented by two brothers who were living there with their families, although authorities have not publicly confirmed the relationships among all five people who died.
Investigators have contacted surviving relatives and plan to interview family members and employers as they work to establish what happened before the alarms began sounding.
The vehicle was removed from the garage and taken to the sheriff’s office for further examination. Detectives are investigating whether a mechanical malfunction contributed to the incident or whether the vehicle was unintentionally left running.
While the final cause and manner of death have not been formally determined, Jensen said investigators believe the tragedy was likely accidental.
“We want closure in this case, but we want to be thorough in the investigation that we do,” the sheriff explained.
The incident highlights the dangers of carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas produced when fuels such as gasoline, natural gas, propane or wood burn. Because it cannot be detected by smell, people may become seriously ill before realizing they are being exposed.
Early symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, nausea and confusion, while prolonged exposure can cause unconsciousness or death.
Vehicles left running in attached garages are a particularly dangerous source of carbon monoxide because exhaust fumes can enter a home even when the garage door is open.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that vehicles should never be left running inside attached garages, and recommends installing carbon monoxide detectors near sleeping areas and on every level of a home.
For residents of the Richmond apartment complex, the disaster has been especially difficult to comprehend because it happened inside an ordinary family residence, with little visible warning beyond the alarms that eventually prompted neighbors to seek help.
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