EAST HARLEM — A daughter preparing to take her elderly parents to church on Easter Sunday found them dead in their apartment from apparent carbon monoxide poisoning possibly stemming from a defective stove, according to police and reports.
Doris Crawford, 71, and John Crawford, 80, were found dead inside their home at 1952 First Ave. Sunday after their daughter and her husband came to pick them up, police and reports said.
When the daughter entered her parent’s apartment, they smelled gas and noticed that the oven was on but no food was inside, according to an FDNY spokesman.
The leak appears to be isolated to the couple’s apartment, and none of their neighbors were evacuated, the spokesman noted.
He said the incident may be due to a defective stove, but the FDNY’s investigation is ongoing.
The male victim was found stiff with his face down in a pool of vomit, and his wife was found sitting in her chair by the TV, the spokesman said.
“There were high levels of CO in the apartment,” FDNY Deputy Chief James Coyne told the Daily News, without offering further details.
The couple were parishioners at East Ward Baptist Church and had been married for more than 46 years, the family told the Daily News.
“We are very saddened by the passing of the Crawfords, and our thoughts are with their family,” a spokeswoman for Urban American, which owns the building, said in a statement.
“This was an isolated incident in one apartment. We’d like to thank the NYPD and FDNY for their fast response and ensuring that the building is 100% safe for residents.”
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