(Trends Wide) — The families of three Americans who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a rented Mexico City residence ahead of the Day of the Dead celebrations identified them as two teachers from New Orleans and the owner of a Virginia-based candle business. Beach.
Jordan Marshall, 28, a 12th-grade English teacher, was curious and loved different cultures, his mother told Trends Wide Wednesday, while his friend, Courtez Hall, 33, was a seventh-grade social studies teacher. in the city. According to his sister, he loved to sing and dance and “was the prankster in the family.” Meanwhile, Kandace Florence, 28, had a “pure” heart and mind and rejected negativity, her mother said.
The three friends were staying in an apartment they had found on Airbnb in the La Rosita neighborhood of the Mexican capital. The Attorney General’s Office of Mexico City opened an investigation on October 30 for the “death of three foreigners, derived from possible poisoning by gas inhalation.” Expert studies indicate the gas was carbon monoxide, according to the attorney general’s statement.
After detecting an intense smell of gas in the apartment, the security guards of a residential complex requested support from local authorities, the statement says, and the agents who arrived found the bodies of a woman and two men.
Paramedics determined they were found dead, according to the report. The attorney general’s office ordered investigations.
The US State Department confirmed the deaths and said it was monitoring the investigation and awaiting official results. He referred questions about the investigation to Mexican authorities.
“We continue to provide all appropriate consular assistance to families,” the State Department said in a statement. “Out of respect for the families’ privacy, we have nothing further to add at this time. … Once again, we offer our sincerest condolences to the families for their loss.”
Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas found in vapors from fuel burned in vehicles, ranges and stoves, lanterns, grills, fireplaces or furnaces, according to the CDC. Symptoms of prolonged inhalation include headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion.
Florence’s boyfriend, one of the victims, spoke to her that morning.
Freida Florence provided a harrowing account of learning that her daughter had died. One of her sons called and reported, “’Mom, Kandace is no longer with us,’ and she repeated it several times,” she said. It took her hours to process her words.
“I was downcast. She was emotionally distraught,” she said.
Kandace Florence’s boyfriend, Victor Day, spoke to her the morning of the day she died. She texted him around 4:10 a.m. ET to tell him that she wasn’t feeling well, emotionally or physically, he told Trends Wide.
“What’s wrong?” he said to her, and she said she wasn’t well and wanted to go home. She said she felt like she had been drugged, Day said. When they contacted via FaceTime, she seemed distraught, he said.
He tried to contact her later in the morning, to no avail, he said, so he contacted Marshall, his childhood friend from Virginia.
After not hearing from Florence or Marshall, Day contacted the Airbnb host in Mexico City to ask him to run a wellness check.
Kandace Florence started a candle business during the pandemic, her mom says. (Credit: Courtesy of the Florence family)
“Maybe 10 to 15 minutes later, she replies that all three are in the apartment and they were found unconscious with no vital signs, and emergency services had been contacted,” Day said. “My heart broke.”
One of Freida Florence’s sons flew to Mexico City on November 2 and identified her the next day. Her body has been returned to Virginia, but has not yet cleared customs and the family is working with a funeral home to obtain her remains.
“I haven’t seen my daughter yet,” the mother said of her youngest daughter. “She was my beloved daughter, my dreamer, my creator.”
During the covid-19 pandemic, Kandace Florence started a candle business, Glo Through It, telling her mother that people were in lockdown and hurting and that she wanted to “bring light to them,” Freida Florence recalled. “I was so proud of her.”
Freida Florence and Day spoke of her positive nature, with Day saying that Kandace was an ambitious and hard worker with a “sense of exploration, wanting to experience and feel new things.” She would have celebrated her 29th birthday on Thursday.
“He was just a beautiful soul,” he said. “She was a spark of light. She was very kind, a perfect human being. That’s what hurts the most.”
Her mom added: “She had a pure heart, a pure mind and did not tolerate negativity at all.”
Marshall “was so full of life”
Marshall grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia, said his mother, Jennifer Marshall.
“He was a brilliant beam of light, and anyone who came into contact with him would never forget it. We have been receiving so much love and support from people everywhere,” he said. “Jordan was very intellectual and curious. He loved being immersed in different cultures. He was very passionate about his students and he was a very passionate educator.”
TaNaja Williams, Hall’s niece, said she was shocked to learn her uncle had died. She called him “the light of my life” and said that she would miss him immensely.
Courtesy: Hall Family
“Every time I walked into the room, it was pure joy and happiness,” he said. “We both loved music. We always sang together, and I will miss him.”
His mother, Hall’s sister Tanieeka, said she will miss everything about her brother.
“He was so full of life. He was always happy, he always had a big smile on his face. He was the prankster of the family. He was always in a good place and he was very smart,” he said. “He loved to dance. He loved to sing”.
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The school where Courtez Hall taught released balloons in her honor last week, and students and fellow teachers were visibly moved, Tanieeka Hall said.
The trio traveled to Mexico City for the Day of the Dead holiday, Jennifer Marshall said. Usually spread throughout Mexico on November 1 and 2, the celebrations honor deceased loved ones and take on a lively tone as attendees talk and eat together. Elaborately decorated skulls and sweets are a regular feature.
Jordan Marshall’s mother traveled to the capital and identified his body, Jennifer Marshall said. After going through a series of paperwork, she repatriated the body to the United States, she said.
Hall’s family learned of her death when the US Embassy in Mexico called her mother on Oct. 31, her birthday, Tanieeka Hall said. An embassy official told the family that he had been found unconscious and that he was not suspected of a crime, the sister said.
“For her to receive that news on her birthday was extremely devastating,” he said.
The Hall family is working to bring his body home and has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help with funeral expenses, Tanieeka Hall said.
A call to change
Airbnb called the deaths a “terrible tragedy” and said it was ready to help with any queries.
“Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones as they mourn such an unimaginable loss. Our priority at this time is to support those affected while the authorities investigate what happened,” the online home rental company said in its statement.
Jennifer Marshall would like to see Airbnb and similar services require the use of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to prevent future tragedies, she said. It was not immediately known if there were working detectors in the apartment.
“We want to make sure his death was not in vain,” said Jennifer Marshall.
Airbnb strongly encourages hosts to install carbon monoxide detectors in their residences, it says, and offers free detectors to hosts.
News of the deaths comes just months after reports that three Americans died of carbon monoxide poisoning at a Sandals resort on the Bahamas’ Great Exuma Island.
Two couples reported feeling ill on the night of May 5 and were treated by medical personnel, Bahamian police said.
The next day, Michael Phillips, 68, and his wife, Robbie Phillips, 65, of Tennessee, and Vincent Paul Chiarella, 64, of Florida, were found dead in their homes. Chiarella’s wife, Donnis, 65, was flown to the capital, Nassau, for further treatment before being flown to Florida.
— Trends Wide’s Omar Astorga, Florencia Trucco, Hande Atay Alam and Michelle Watson contributed to this report.
