South Carolina Couple Found Dead in 'Extremely Hot' Home Where Heater Measured Over 1,000 Degrees
The couple's body temperatures exceeded 106 degrees, according to a police report
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The elderly couple was found dead Saturday night in their South Carolina home.An elderly South Carolina couple was found dead Saturday after authorities entered their home and discovered temperatures on their heater had reached over 1,000 degrees, according to multiple reports.
According to a police report, family members, who hadn't seen the pair since Jan. 3, called the police to conduct a welfare check at the couple's Spartanburg home, per CBS affiliate WSPA, The State and NBC affiliate WYFF.
Although all of the doors were locked, officers were able to get in through an unsecured window, reported WYFF. Once inside, police noted that the home was "extremely hot."
The pair were found dead inside their bedroom, according to the report.
The victims have been identified by the Spartanburg County Coroner's Office as 84-year-old Joan Littlejohn and 82-year-old Glennwood Fowler, according to WSPA and The State.
When reached by PEOPLE, the coroner's office tells PEOPLE it only identifies victims to family. Police and the Spartanburg Fire Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment.
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According to the police report, family members told police they had been at the home days earlier to help their parents with their heater, reported WYFF.
The family went on to tell police they noticed that the hot water heater's pilot light was out, per the report. Once they fidgeted with it and it came back on, they left the house.
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When a paramedic tried to measure the couple's temperatures, they exceeded 106 degrees, according to the newspaper and WYFF.
The temperature inside the home was over 120 degrees, according to the police report. After deactivating the heater, "they then measured the temperature of the heater itself and measured it at over 1,000 degrees."
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Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said that the deaths remain under investigation, per The State and WYFF. He said that there is no evidence of foul play, but there is concern about "why the temperature was so high."
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