• See additional photos from Oxon Hill
Five people were found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning in an Oxon Hill home Tuesday morning, according to Prince George’s County fire officials.
The bodies of three men and two women were discovered by a family member of one of the victims, who visited the home on the 700 block of Shelby Drive about 10:45 a.m., said Mark Brady, spokesman for the Prince George’s County Fire Department.
The victims include Oscar Chavez, 57, his wife, Sonia Maribel Leiva Chavez, 54, and her sister, 57-year-old Nora N. Leiva, all from El Salvador, as well as two unrelated boarders: Gomez Segovia Francisco Javier, 33, and Nelson Enrique Landaverde Alas, 44, county officials said.
Authorities said carbon monoxide seeped into the small, one-story suburban home through a broken exhaust pipe designed to ventilate toxic gases generated by the home’s heating furnace. The levels of carbon monoxide in the home were roughly 550 parts per million, compared with normal levels of 0 to 5 parts per million.
“At that high a level of [carbon monoxide], it would not take them long to be overcome and suffer fatal injuries,” Brady said. Authorities suspect the heating system was turned on because of the cold snap that swept through the region Monday. There were no carbon monoxide detectors in the home.
“We call it the sonic killer,” Brady said of carbon monoxide. “It doesn’t smell or taste like anything, so there’s no warning. By the time it’s affecting you, that’s when you know.”
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include dizziness, nausea and a severe headache.
When paramedics arrived at the house Tuesday morning, they found two unconscious bodies lying near the door and pulled them into the backyard to try and resuscitate them. The other three bodies were found in various rooms in the home. An unconscious dog was also found, and animal rescue services were called. The status of the dog is unknown, Brady said.
Outside the home, neighbors and family members hugged and cried as they watched uniformed officials circle the home with yellow police tape.
One, Marvin Chavez, identified his father and stepmother, Oscar Chavez and Sonia Maribel Leiva, as two of the victims. His eyes turned red and brimmed with tears as he showed reporters a photograph on his phone of his father, alive and well, from the previous evening.
Homicide detectives are investigating the deaths, and a medical examiner is performing autopsies on the bodies, even though there are no signs of foul play, Brady said.
