Married couple found dead in car in their home

Married couple found dead in car in their home

JAKARTA (JP): A man and his wife were found dead in the back
seat of their BMW sedan parked inside the garage of their West
Jakarta home Saturday morning.

A West Jakarta police officer said that the couple -- Anwar
Talib, 37, and Sriyati, 31 -- had died allegedly of carbon
monoxide poisoning.

The officer, who asked for anonymity, said police believed the
couple was in the car for about four hours before their bodies
were found at 6 a.m. on Saturday by their maid Marmita.

"They must have died from inhaling the car's exhaust fumes.
The engine was on when they were found by the maid," the officer
said.

The couple lived with their three children and the maid in a
three-bedroom house on Jl. Raya Kebon Jeruk 13, he said.

Marmita said that as soon as she found the dead couple in the
garage, she asked neighbors to help turn off the car. She then
called the police.

She said she became suspicious when she found one of the
couple's children unconscious in a bedroom, while another one was
crying.

The unconscious child was possibly the first person to see the
bodies, Marmita said.

The officer said it was still unclear why the couple chose to
sleep in the car and not in their own bedroom.

Police did not indicate that they believed the couple
committed suicide.

He said his office was still collecting information from
witnesses to clarify the case.

According to a forensics doctor at the Cipto Mangunkusumo
General Hospital, Djaja S. Atmadja, the couple must have inhaled
a dangerous level of carbon monoxide which may have penetrated
into the car's interior through cracks or leaks in the body.

"Fumes from the exhaust pipe could easily enter the car if
there is any crack in the car's body," he told The Jakarta Post.

"It doesn't matter whether the car is parked in the open or in
a closed garage. The fumes can kill the passengers if it
penetrates through the cracks and accumulates inside if the doors
or windows are closed," he said.

Djaja urged passengers to have adequate circulation in their
car and not to close all their windows if they wait in a parked
car with the engine on for a long period of time.

He stressed that children were more susceptible to carbon
monoxide poisoning.

"Victims usually don't realize if they are inhaling carbon
monoxide because it is colorless and odorless. They just don't
feel it," Djaja said.

He said victims of carbon monoxide poisoning could be easily
identified from bright reddish marks on their backs.

At least one couple has been found dead in similar cases in
the city every year.

"About two or three couples have fallen victim this year
alone," Djaja said. (cst)