Jeferson Luiz Sagaz, 37, and his partner Ana Carolina Silva, 41 had spent the day celebrating their daughter’s birthday at a food park and drinking before heading to a nightclub
Two parents celebrating their four-year-old daughter’s birthday have died in a boiling motel bathtub following a night of partying.
Jeferson Luiz Sagaz, 37, and his partner Ana Carolina Silva, 41 had spent the day celebrating their daughter’s birthday at a food park and drinking before heading to a nightclub.
Military police officer Jeferson and nail salon owner Ana left the child with Jeferson’s sister and checked into the Dallas Motel in São José, in Brazil’s Santa Catarina state, just after midnight on August 11.
However the couple never came to pick up their daughter the following morning, causing worried relatives to call the police. After the couple were reported missing, officers discovered the lifeless bodies of the couple in the motel bathroom.
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After looking at the hotel room, studying CCTV images and examining the couple’s car, crime scene investigators concluded that the husband and wife had passed out in a bathtub filled with 50°C water while a space heater blasted heat into the room.
A toxicology examination found very high alcohol levels and traces of cocaine, according to local news outlet Globo G1.
Brazil’s Chief Medical Examiner Andressa Boer Fronza said: “The cause of both deaths was exogenous poisoning, favouring the process of heatstroke with intense dehydration, thermal collapse, culminating in organ failure and death.”
Following a battery of 16 forensic tests to rule out possible causes of death such as electric shock, drowning, carbon monoxide poisoning or foul play, investigators concluded it must have been heat that killed the couple.
The couple, who had been together for nearly 20 years, were described by friends as devoted parents and sociable. Police said there was no history of violence.
Ana Carolina’s family rejected claims she was a habitual drug user, raising fears she could have been forced to ingest cocaine. Chief Simão added: “It may be that the physical constitution, both his and hers, were not compatible with the use of a substance like that, especially when combined with alcohol.”
The couple’s daughter is not in the care of relatives after her parents’ celebration of her birthday took a tragic turn leaving her orphaned.
The news comes after a tragic student was found dead on her 22nd birthday after getting in a hot tub.
Alexandra Săsărman was found lying in the jacuzzi at her family’s cabin where she was staying with her friends to celebrate her birthday, having suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
It’s thought her death may have been caused by the high temperature of the water.