Mystery surrounds deaths of the parents of young girl who alerted neighbours in the Guadalhorce valley
No narcotics or a source of anything that could have released carbon monoxide fumes were found during a visual inspection of the property
The investigation into the deaths of a couple in Coín in Malaga province's Guadalhorce valley on 12 October points to poisoning. There are so many unknowns for the moment, however, that no hypothesis has been ruled out. Although the results of the autopsy have been released, complementary studies are needed in order to clarify the cause of death.
It is believed that the man and the woman died at the same time, while their six-year-old daughter was asleep in the 'sub-standard' dwelling where they lived. The house is made of wood and only has two rooms.
During a visual inspection of the scene, the Guardia Civil did not find any traces of narcotic substances that could have provoked an adverse drug reaction. The hypothesis linked to the ingestion of a psychotropic drug has not yet been completely ruled out, although there is nothing to support it, apart from the fact that it is strange that they both died at the same time.
When searching the house, located in the middle of the countryside, investigators looked for a source of carbon monoxide emissions, such as a gas cooker or heater. Carbon monoxide poisoning happens without a warning, which is why it is often called the 'silent killer'.
The fact that the girl survived undermines this hypothesis, although it would not be the first time that poor gas combustion that releases carbon monoxide has affected people living together in the same house in different ways.
However, no device that could have released the substance was discovered, so this line of investigation has hardly been pursued. The drug hypothesis, also unlikely, has not been ruled out either. Nothing can be ruled out 100% for the moment.
Researchers have even considered other much more unusual theories, such as severe poisoning from ingestion of a drug or food or even inhalation of phosphane gas. The latter caused the death of a family in Seville more than a decade ago.
In that case, a man, his wife and their daughter were found dead in their home. They had been accumulating bags of plastic caps in the bathroom to sell them for recycling. The pesticide in the bottles, in contact with water or humidity, released the phosphine and caused the fatal poisoning.
