A couple of husbands, their 13-year-old daughter and their two pets are found dead in an apartment east of Caracas: what caused this tragedy?

With great shock and pain, Venezuelans received the news of the discovery of a family and their two dead pets in an apartment in eastern Caracas.

To Rodrigo Ayala, 63 years old; his wife Carolina Fernández, 53; and their daughter, Camila, 13, were found dead on Sunday, November 5, in their home in the Los Chorros sector, in the municipality of Sucre, Miranda state.

For further impression, the family cat and a dog were also dead in the apartment.

Ayala and her partner were described as ‘amazing people’. They were couples “engaged in activism for the common good,” says Jesús ‘Chúo’ Torrealba, popular communicator.

Carolina Fernández was director of Senos Ayuda, a renowned foundation in Venezuela that provides help to women with breast cancer.

What happened to the family

The bodies were found by a family member. This person has reported this to the Sucre municipal police, they filed a report on Sunday, November 5, 2023.

“It was all because of one gas leak in heating“said the scientific police.

Until 10:30 on the morning of Monday, November 6, the three bodies remained at the headquarters of the National Service of Medicine and Forensic Sciences, located in Bello Monte.

Since this tragedy became known, many began to assume that it was the result of a gas leak. “It was unofficially determined that there was no odor in the apartment or in the surrounding area,” said journalist Román Camacho, who reported on the events.

When the bodies were found, it was estimated that death could have occurred two hours earlier.

Three members of a family died after showing common symptoms; Investigations are underway into apparent intoxication through inhalation of the substance

The call

According to Eligio Rojas, a journalist from Últimas Noticias, a relative of the deceased testified before the Cicpc (Scientific Police) and said he had received a call from his uncle Rodrigo Ayala.

Ayala “told him that Camila had fainted, so he planned to take her to San Román Urology.”

That family member, according to what was reported in that medium, went to the clinic, but did not find them. He decided to go to his uncle Rodrigo’s apartment, located in the Los Mangos, Murano building, in Los Chorros.

Apparently, after contacting a locksmith, he was able to enter the apartment to discover the worst scenes.

Román Camacho and Eligio Rojas agree that upon entering the apartment they saw that “the three bodies were on the floor. The pets (dog and cat) also had no vital functions.”

Many hours must pass before a death occurs due to gas inhalation, Camacho explained in an interview.

“That doesn’t happen right away. The person has to be exposed to the gas for a long time, first it makes you sleepy, you faint because it feels like a very intense dream and you lose your life,” he indicated.

Camila’s body lay on the floor of her room, as did that of her parents, found in their bedroom. The pets died in the living room of the apartment, Camacho reported.

A mother and two brothers died from inhaling carbon monoxide from a heater in a house in northern Quito

Drunk

On Monday, November 6, around 11 a.m. in the morning, journalists Darvinson Rojas and Santiago Gutiérrez reported on their networks that Ayala Fernández died of poisoning due to a gas leak from a boiler, according to police reports.

That leak ’caused a concentration of carbon monoxide’.

The confirmation was offered by the national head of the Cicpc, Commissioner Douglas Rico, Últimas Noticias reported. Rico said: “It was all because of a gas leak in the stove.”

He explained that the cat was the first to die. “Camila Beatriz (13) fainted and at that moment her father, Rodrigo Ayala, called a relative to tell him what was happening, saying that he would take the girl to San Román Urology. But he didn’t get the chance (time) to do that, because both Rodrigo and his wife Carolina Fernández (53) fell to the ground and died.”

big regret

The reactions to the tragic death of the Ayala Fernández family took over social networks in Venezuela.

Senos Ayuda stated that Carolina Fernández was a volunteer who was always committed to the fight against breast cancer.

Luis Olavarrieta, communicator: “I feel it in my soul. Good luck and lots of love to the rest of the family.”

Viviana Gibelli, animator: “What a great sadness. I have a hole in my heart. A big hug for the whole family.”

Anna Vaccarella, journalist: “Good God, what a tragedy. Receive a big hug and my prayers.”

Shocked by the death of Ayala, whom he had known for more than twenty years, ‘Chúo’ Torrealba wrote: “The news of his abrupt departure is disturbing, disruptive and painful. My condolences to their families and to the legion of friends they have all cultivated, my prayers for the eternal repose of their souls and for the soul of Camila, their little daughter. How strong, how rough, how painful. REST IN PEACE”. (JO)