A California family is dead, authorities say, after parking at a CVS drug store parking lot in Garden Grove. The family, which included two young children, appeared to have been homeless, and the van they died in sat for “several days” before they were found.
From CBS Local, Los Angeles: A woman reported the van at about 8:30 p.m. after walking by and smelling a foul odor coming from it, Garden Grove police said. Responding officers saw the van, which had been backed into a space in the far corner of the lot, had its windows covered with blankets and a sunscreen before finding a man, a woman, a boy, and a girl dead inside, police Lt. Carl Whitney said.
The victims did not appear to have any signs of trauma, Whitney said. Autopsies are pending and will determine the cause of death.
“It appears that the man backed into a parking stall, and they may have succumbed to either some carbon monoxide poisoning, because there’s no obvious signs of trauma,” Whitney told CBS2. “But based on what we’ve seen, it looks like it was a tragic accident at this point.”
The children were 2 years old and 8 months old.
The woman who made the report reported seeing the van “go in and out of the parking lot over the past month,” leading her to believe the family was homeless.
Israel Espinoza doesn’t know the family of four found dead in a van last night. But told us he and his family have been through hard times and know what it’s like. @GardenGrovePD believes the adults and their two children possibly died from carbon monoxide poisoning. @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/y0vxihXlIQ
— Anabel Muñoz (@abc7anabel) March 16, 2018
Man, woman and 2 young children found dead in van parked outside Garden Grove CVS, @chrisburrous reports https://t.co/7VvWg5vp0d
— KTLA (@KTLA) March 16, 2018
Family of 4 – with 2 children – found dead in van in Garden Grove https://t.co/6K7fBTtuc9 pic.twitter.com/1bF1bO0KUY
— O.C. Register (@ocregister) March 16, 2018
Los Angeles Times 2 children, 2 adults found dead in van in Garden Grove parking lot Los Angeles Times The victims did not appear to have suffered any noticeable trauma and the cause of death has not yet been determined, authorities said. Garden Grove… https://t.co/sv9tgRoBKD pic.twitter.com/OEf9PVBXU1
— US Live News (@USLiveNews) March 16, 2018
This was placed in the Garden Grove parking lot where a family of four was found dead inside a van. @GardenGrovePD says two adults and their children under the age of two possibly died from carbon monoxide poisoning. #GGFC @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/b2Sj2LG7nI
— Anabel Muñoz (@abc7anabel) March 16, 2018
Roses representing a family of four found dead in a van in Garden Grove were left at the scene. Both children were under the age of two. Police believe the family was homeless and possibly died from carbon monoxide poisoning. @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/WlwgJeNYoz
— Anabel Muñoz (@abc7anabel) March 16, 2018
