42-year-old man found dead in his residence due to carbon monoxide poisoning

In a tragic incident that occurred around 9 am on 10 February 2024, a man aged 42 was found dead at his residence inside the Rinchen Higher Secondary School compound.

Upon receiving a medical emergency call from the deceased’s wife, the JDWNRH emergency team quickly responded and arrived at the scene, only to discover the lifeless body of the man. The authorities immediately notified the 1010 helpline to initiate an investigation.

The duty officer, along with the investigation team, promptly arrived at the scene and requested assistance from the forensic team of JDWNRH.

During the joint examination of the deceased’s body, no external injuries or signs of struggle were found, ruling out foul play. However, the body had a pinkish discoloration and full rigor mortis had set in, indicating the time of death between 8-12 hours ago.

The cause of death was asserted to be carbon monoxide poisoning.

The deceased resided in a temporary structure within the Rinchen HSS compound, which was rented. The lifeless body of the deceased was found on a bed inside the house.

The deceased was identified as a 42-year-old male who worked as a driver for a furniture showroom.

The main door of the house was found latched from the inside which had to be forcibly opened by the wife and cousins.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the deceased was alone at home while his wife and daughter had gone to a friend’s place in Debsi on the evening of 9 February 2024, at around 8 pm.

The wife had revealed that they had been experiencing paranormal phenomena, which had disturbed them for several nights. The wife had requested the husband to accompany them, however, he had declined and opted to stay back alone.

When the wife returned the next morning around 9:30 am, she discovered her husband unresponsive after knocking on the main door and making phone calls. She had even tried waking him by calling out to him from outside the bedroom window, however, there was no response.

Concerned, the wife sought help from her cousins to force open the latched door. Upon checking on the husband, they found him stiff and cold.

The investigation learnt from the cousins who were neighbors that the deceased was last seen drinking alcohol alone outside his house by a fire made in a tin container. It was also known that at around midnight, the neighbors were disturbed by loud music coming from the deceased’s house, prompting them to call the wife informing about the disturbance.

The wife had contacted her husband, who seemed normal during the phone call. After that, the neighbors were unaware of any further developments until the wife’s return.

During the investigation, the team discovered the tin container used for the fire inside the room near the deceased’s bed, placed on top of a wooden and stone block. The wife explained that they used to keep hot coals inside their bedroom for warmth.

Upon examining the rooms, it was found that there was no ventilation, and only one closed window was present in the bedroom.

The wife revealed that they would usually keep the fire pot or container inside their bedroom when all the wood was burned out, and only charcoal remained.

Further, the forensic team collected blood and urine samples for further examination and confirmation.