California motel closes after two women found dead in same room days apart | California
A California motel has been shut down after authorities found two women dead in the same room within days of each other.
The Eureka Police Department in Northern California said in a news release late Thursday that on Feb. 21, Humboldt Bay police officers and firefighters were dispatched to a motel in the 4000 block of Broadway Street in Eureka — identified by the Eureka Times-Standard as the Lamplighter Inn — after receiving a report of “two patients unconscious due to a possible drug overdose.”
Upon arrival, police said a 37-year-old woman was found deceased and the other person was transported to a local hospital.
A few days later, on February 26, police said officers were dispatched to the same motel again following another report of “two unconscious people” in “the same room as the February 21 call, following a suspected drug overdose.”
A 36-year-old woman was found deceased, authorities said, while the other person was found in critical condition and transported to a local hospital.
Authorities said in the news release that during the second incident, Humboldt Bay firefighters on scene “exhibited signs of mild carbon monoxide exposure.”
Authorities said atmospheric monitoring inside the room revealed “high levels of carbon monoxide in the room.” Police said “no carbon monoxide detectors were located in the room.”
Firefighters, detectives, evidence technicians and Pacific Gas & Electric Company responded to the scene, according to the news release, and occupants of the motel were evacuated while it was ventilated.
Police said the building manager, Humboldt Bay Fire Chief and fire marshal determined the motel should not be occupied “until mechanical inspections of each room are completed and additional fire code violations are corrected.”
“The City of Eureka Building Official has served the business owner with a first and final notice requiring the location to be closed until the identified violations are corrected and inspected,” the press release states.
According to a letter obtained by the Local Coast Outpost of Northern California, the motel was closed on March 3 and will remain closed until the hearing and ventilation systems in each room are “inspected and certified safe.”
“All equipment must be confirmed to be in good working order before occupancy is permitted or utilities are restored,” the city’s letter states. “In addition, you should ensure that every room is equipped with fully functioning carbon monoxide detectors, all of which must be in good working order. »
The police press release states that the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office was contacted and “the cause of death for both descendants is listed as under investigation.”
The names of the deceased will not be released until notification of next of kin can be verified, authorities said, adding that this is an “ongoing active, multi-agency investigation.”
