The three were living in a rental in an apartment complex in the La Rosita neighborhood when they were found dead on Oct. 30, according to the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office, which investigated the deaths. The victims were identified by relatives as Kandace Florence and Jordan Marshall — both from Virginia Beach, Va. — and Courtez Hall, who was a teacher in New Orleans. The three friends were in town for the Day of the Dead holiday when Florence called her friend and said she wasn’t feeling well, Florence’s parents told “Good Morning America.” “She said, ‘I threw up and I’m dizzy and my legs are wobbly,’” said her mother, Frieda Florence. Marshall’s sister, Jasmine Marshall, told “Good Morning America” that she received a message from Florence’s boyfriend on Instagram saying he couldn’t reach Florence for the rest of the day after that phone call. “So that worried him,” she said. “So she contacted the Airbnb host to do a welfare check and it was found that everyone was unresponsive.” Security guards at the complex detected a strong odor of gas in the apartment and initially suspected gas inhalation poisoning, the attorney general’s office said in a statement this week. Blood tests found that the three Americans — two men and a woman — died of carbon monoxide poisoning, the office said. Investigators discovered a malfunction in the apartment’s gas boiler, which released a gas smell as well as carbon monoxide, a colorless and odorless gas, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office told ABC News. One of the victims was found dead in the bathroom and is believed to have been trying to take a shower, which could have activated the boiler, the spokesman said. An Airbnb spokesperson confirmed that the three Americans were staying in a space listed on its platform. “This is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones as they deal with this great loss,” an Airbnb spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News. “Our priority now is to provide support to those affected while the authorities investigate what happened and we are available to co-operate with the investigation in any way we can.” The US embassy in Mexico said it was “closely monitoring” the investigation into the deaths of three US citizens in the country. “We stand ready to provide any appropriate consular assistance,” it said in a statement earlier this week. “Out of respect for the families’ privacy, we have nothing further to add at this time.” The three deaths come after another American died of carbon monoxide poisoning while staying at a vacation rental in Mexico City late last month, the victim’s family told ABC San Diego station KGTV. The woman’s two brothers were also hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning, their family told the station. The three deaths come after another American died of carbon monoxide poisoning while staying at a vacation rental in Mexico City late last month, the family says. Three American tourists found dead at a resort in the Bahamas in May also died of carbon monoxide poisoning, officials said. Victims’ families are calling for more regulation on requiring working carbon monoxide detectors in rental properties. “We’re going to fight to make sure the orders are enforced so no other family has to deal with this kind of grief and heartache,” Marshall’s mother, Jennifer Marshall, told “Good Morning America.” Copyright © 2022 ABC News Internet Ventures.
