June 11, 2013 -- Updated 2330 GMT (0730 HKT)
It had the makings of a mountain mystery: three deaths -- first an
elderly couple, then a boy, 11 -- in the same hotel room, all of them
initially ruled "cause undetermined." FULL STORY
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1 ROOM, 3 DEATHS
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ASPHYXIA?
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ASPHYXIA?
June 11, 2013 -- Updated 1610 GMT (0010 HKT)
Boy is third to die in same hotel room
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- An elderly couple from Washington state died in the room in April
- Autopsy results then were inconclusive
- On Saturday, an 11-year-old boy died in the same room
- Authorities link all three deaths to one cause: carbon monoxide
When the third death --
that of a South Carolina youth visiting Boone with his mother -- made
news over the weekend in a Charlotte Observer story ("Mystery surrounds
Boone motel deaths,") it brought on reader comments punctuated with
words such as "terrifying," "bizarre," "really weird," "incredibly
creepy."
"Bates Motel in Boone?" offered one reader.
In this town where the
old ways of the mist-shrouded North Carolina mountains still abide
alongside massive multi-million-dollar developments, a booming tourism
industry and a lynchpin university complex at Appalachian State, the
deaths in Room 225 at the Best Western Plus Blue Ridge Plaza hotel were
indeed enough to get people talking.
The deaths of Daryl Dean Jenkins, 73, and Shirley Mae Jenkins, 72, in Room 225 were both from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Not so much in the realm
of the unknown, however. More in the spirit of
there's-got-to-be-an-explanation -- and with genuine mountain sympathy
for the victims and their families.
"If it's the same (cause
for all three deaths), this is ridiculous," Betty Austin, owner of the
Mountain House restaurant near the hotel, told CNN Monday.
"Gotta be something going on," said Chuck Style, a manager at Idol's Tire & Auto Services also near the hotel.
"It's a real nice hotel.
That's kinda what's so shocking about it," said Style, who added that
the talk in town was focused on an unseen yet quite tangible probable
cause: carbon monoxide.
The mysterious deaths in Room 225
Police: Boy likely died of asphyxia
On Monday, investigators confirmed the locals' speculation.
Boone Police Chief Dana
Crawford told reporters that shortly after noon on Saturday, when
emergency personnel responded to the hotel to find 11-year-old Jeffrey
Lee Williams dead and his mother, Jeannie Williams, 49, ill, "a
presumptive test indicated elevated level of carbon monoxide in the
room."
Crawford said after an
autopsy on the boy's body, "preliminary indications are that he died
from asphyxia." Other toxicology results were pending, he added.
Crawford went on:
full-blown toxicology tests had concluded within the last 24 hours that
the deaths of Daryl Dean Jenkins, 73, and Shirley Mae Jenkins, 72, from
Washington state, in Room 225 in April were both due to carbon monoxide
poisoning.
Autopsies conducted soon after the couple died had been incomplete.
Left unsolved is the source of the smothering gas.
"As of today, the business remains closed and under the control of investigators," Crawford said Monday.
Examiners from the state
board overseeing plumbing, heating and fire sprinkler contractors will
be at the hotel on Wednesday, the chief said.
Williams, according to a
relative quoted in the Charlotte Observer, had gone from home in Rock
Hill, South Carolina, to Boone with her son to pick up her daughter from
a mountain camp. She remained hospitalized in stable condition Monday.
An attorney retained by
the hotel issued a statement to media saying the "health and safety of
guests who stay at our hotel is our number one priority.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of those involved," added attorney Paul Culpepper.
"We are cooperating
fully with authorities who are investigating this truly tragic incident.
The hotel will remain closed as we work closely with authorities to
address any issues identified and authorities declare the hotel cleared
for occupancy."
In Boone, where the
mountain way of speaking to the point can cut as clean as a biting
morning wind, restaurateur Austin summed up the attitude of many.
"If you had this happen one time," she said Monday, "why in hell didn't they do something about it?"
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