Galveston County DA wants investigation into 'deeply disturbing' winter-related deaths
KTRK
February 19, 2021
GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas -- The Galveston County District Attorney
says reports of cold-related deaths are 'deeply disturbing' and need to
be investigated.
Jack Roady told ABC13 news partner I-45 Now that
once the Galveston County Medical Examiner determines the number of
deaths related to the cold, he will ask local police agencies to
investigate the circumstances surrounding them. At the same time, he
says, his office will be looking into who is responsible at the state
level for making decisions to cut power and why.
"And once those investigations are done, we're going to look at that
evidence and determine whether there is evidence to support a criminal
charge," Roady said.
The death toll from the winter storm and the resulting power outages continues to rise.
In
Galveston County, there have been two confirmed exposure deaths and one
confirmed carbon monoxide poisoning death, but more autopsies are
pending.
On Tuesday, the medical examiner, which also serves
Matagorda and Brazoria counties, requested a refrigerated truck, which
has since been delivered.
It was the same day that Laura Crow
lost her older brother, Wesley Crow, 57. The old farmhouse where they
live outside Santa Fe had been without power and heat for almost two
days.
"He just collapsed, his eyes rolled up into his head and
just stopped breathing," Crow told ABC13. "I think absolutely, the cold
absolutely was detrimental to his health and not being able to not get
warm did not help that situation."
Crow's cause of death has not been determined.
In Harris County, three people have died from exposure. Two more have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Fort Bend County reports three cases where exposure was a contributing
factor. Additionally, three children and one adult have died in a house
fire that, firefighters said, may have started from their efforts to get
warm.
Roady is the first to float the idea that some of the deaths could be criminal.
"This is an unprecedented event and it does deserve to be investigated," he said.
2 comments:
I didn't realize how much I like living in Galveston County. Our County Judge and DA don't
f-ck around. Went stayed red and don't give a shit what anyone else thinks. Refreshing.
I expect you could make a manslaughter case out of some of this, but when dealing with "acts of God" even that becomes tricky.
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