A four-year-old girl is now an orphan, just days after her birthday, following her parents’ sudden death in a bath.
Military police officer Jeferson Luiz Sagaz, 37, and his partner Ana Carolina Silva, 41, were found dead in São Jose, Brazil, on August 11.
The couple had spent the day celebrating their daughter’s birthday at a food park before later going to a nightclub and checking into the Dallas Motel around midnight.
Investigators found the couple dead in a bath from heatstroke, after passing out in 50°C water, while a space heater was also turned on high.
When they failed to pick up their daughter the next day, relatives raised the alarm and reported them missing.
The couple’s drunken state meant they couldn’t climb out of the scalding water when they became unwell.
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.’
Toxicology tests revealed traces of cocaine and very high blood alcohol levels.
Police conducted intensive forensic reports on the motel room, the couple’s car, and CCTV – ruling out electric shock, drowning, carbon monoxide poisoning, or third-party involvement.
Chief of Police Felipe Simao Gomes said, ‘These circumstances, combined with the substances found on the bodies, led the Civil Police to conclude that the cause of death was sudden and not due to third-party intervention.’
Ana Carolina’s family said she was not a habitual drug user and suggested she may have been forced to ingest the drugs.
The couple had been together for nearly two decades and were parents to one daughter, who is now being cared for by family.
Friends and colleagues described them as sociable but not known for drug use, and police confirmed there was no history of violence in the relationship.
What are the symptoms of heatstroke?
There are many signs of heatstroke to look out for, including the following:
- Intense thirst
- Headache
- Dizziness and confusion
- Loss of appetite and feeling sick
- Excessive sweating and pale, clammy skin
- Lack of sweating despite the heat
- Cramps in the arms, legs, and stomach
- Fast breathing or pulse
If you do think someone is suffering from heat exhaustion or heatstroke, immediately take them to a cool place.
Give them plenty of fluids – water is encouraged, but sports or rehydration drinks are also okay.
Get them to lie down and raise their feet slightly.
Cool their skin by spraying or sponging them with cool water and a fan. Cold packs around the armpits or neck are good too.
They should be better in 30 minutes; if not, then you should call 999.
Mikhailo Korenovsky, 39, was seen holding one of his daughters while the other blew out candles, hugging the birthday girl with his wife, Olga, 38.
Olga, a personal trainer, wrote about the photo: ‘Instead of this hole, this is where my apartment used to be, in which I lived with my family for nine years.
‘At the time of the explosion, my children and I were out for a walk, and my husband came home after a competition, ate, and was due to come out and join us.
‘There is now no connection with him, either among the living or the dead.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
