PHOENIX — As the summer heat creeps into the Valley, the ABC15 Investigators are looking into the deaths of Valley residents who didn't have properly functioning air conditioning.
In 2023, 156 people died inside their homes across the Valley, according to Maricopa County. County officials found that most people who died indoors were inside a house, followed by an RV/trailer, and an apartment complex.
We're highlighting these deaths to bring attention to those who may be in unsafe living conditions and to emphasize what can be done for anyone who ends up in a similar situation this summer without A/C.
READ EACH OF THEIR STORIES HERE: Robert Laughtland | Alice Witte | Michael Mcewan | Ruby Brull |
Hear more of each of these individual's stories in the player above.
Robert Laughtland, 72, Buckeye
Robert Laughtland was scheduled to have an A/C repair company come to his house on a day that hit triple-digit temperatures last July.
He was supposed to confirm a time with that company, but he couldn’t. He had already died.
Robert’s daughter, Megan, told investigators that her father’s air conditioning unit had not been functioning.
He was 72 years old.
"[It's] only been nine months, fresh in my head," Megan said.
Megan said her father’s home hit 118° inside his Maricopa County home, just on the outskirts of the Buckeye city line.
According to the preliminary investigative report into his death, a scan of the bedroom floor read at approximately 112° Fahrenheit.
Megan said her father was worried about being able to pay for the repairs.
"He was still telling me how he’s having a hard time financially and couldn't afford to get somebody out there,” she said. "My brother and I got on the phone and talked to each other and we got the money together. “
Robert was expected to pick up Megan and drive her to a therapy appointment, but he never made it to her house.
Megan and her husband, Tad, both use wheelchairs and were unable to drive to his house to check on him so they requested a welfare check from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
“They found him on his bed getting ready to go, getting dressed, and getting ready to come over here,” Megan said. “I feel so bad because I couldn't get over there.”
Robert is not the only indoor death.
In 2023, 156 people died indoors in Maricopa County -- that’s nearly double the number from 2022.
The ABC15 Investigators read through hundreds of preliminary investigative reports to find those who died indoors, the reports reveal that most had non-functioning A/C units, and some would turn up or turn off their units to save money.
ALICE WITTE, 76, Phoenix
Alice Witte, 76, also died during the summer of 2023.
Her daughter, Catherine, told the ABC15 Investigators that she struggled financially.
“She did not want to pay high bills for the electricity,” Catherine said.
Catherine said her family would beg their mother to stay with them, but believed there was an issue of pride and independence.
“My brother begged her to come stay with him,” she said.
They even offered to pay the higher electric bill.
MICHAEL MCEWAN, 77, Glendale
Michael Mcewan, 77, was found inside his Glendale home on August 1, 2023.
His brother-in-law, Harvey Prather, said Michael was found on the floor of his home, with his dog lying next to him. They both had passed away.
Prather said Michael never mentioned anything about his A/C unit having problems.
The preliminary investigative report into his death found that the thermostat was set to 50° Fahrenheit, with “cool on” and “fan auto.”
However, the air vent temperature inside was 103°.
RUBY BRULL, 95, Surprise
Ruby Brull, 95, was found by her neighbors after they became worried because they had not seen her.
According to the preliminary investigative report into her death, her air conditioning was turned on and set at 75° but it was not functioning and read at 95°.
Ruby also died in July when temperatures hit triple-digits.
Her daughter, Debbie Johnson, lives out of state and said her mother never told anyone it was not working.
“She had outlived her savings and so she was being very frugal,” Johnson said. “I was willing to pay anything and she knew that, but she didn't want to impose."
Debbie said her mother was active, still cooked meals daily, cleaned her house, and was very sharp.
“She kept it quite warm in there trying to save money,” she added.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
‘These are all preventable deaths’
Stacey Champion, a community advocate, has been calling for more attention and real-time solutions to those who have been dying in the heat.
Champion has been requesting the preliminary investigative reports from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office for years.
“Even though the information is preliminary, it contains a lot of details about how and where and when these people are dying,” she said.
The ABC15 Investigators went through hundreds of the preliminary reports and found that most of the indoor deaths were from non-functioning A/C units, or those who turned up or turned off the units to save money.
“People are not thinking about how serious and potentially deadly the heat is in turning their units off to save money or kicking the temperature really high,” said Champion.
Champion wants better assistance for those who are struggling to pay their utility bills or can’t afford to fix their broken A/C’s. She would like to see more efforts into assistance including emergency hotel vouchers if someone’s A/C is broken, more awareness around the topic of dying indoors, and more outreach to those who are at most risk.
"These are people who should not have died," said Champion.
Researchers with Arizona State University have been studying the impacts of heat, including those who die indoors.
Nearly double the number of people died indoors in 2023 compared to 2022.
“I think we can attribute that to the prolonged extreme heat that we broke climatological records, so many of them last summer,” said Patricia Solis, the executive director for ASU’s Knowledge Exchange for Resilience.
With running A/C’s at full capacity for a couple months, Solis said that means there are more bills for people, “That's a calculation that people are making and so it's a precarious situation for people to be exposed to that.”
Solis said research will need to be done to find out the histories of who was affected and what characteristics of their situations led to their deaths.
She said they have found that those who appear most at risk are women over the age of 50 who live alone and are on a fixed income.
“In terms of prevention and preparedness, I think that we really need to take a close look at what happened so that we can be better prepared for this coming summer,” said Solis.
When it comes to those who are in emergency need of A/C repair there are grants or funding for those who qualify.
Maricopa County has home improvement programs to assist those struggling with non-functioning air conditioning and heating systems.
Cities like Glendale, Mesa, and Phoenix have their own programs for residents to go through.
However, those programs usually go through an application process where funding has to be approved.
In Maricopa County, there’s certain criteria to be met:
- The household must be located within Maricopa County, but not in the cities of Glendale, Mesa, and Phoenix; and
- Since March 13, 2020, a household member has qualified for Unemployment Insurance from the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) OR the household is experiencing financial hardship; and
- Household is living at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and
- Household demonstrates a risk of experiencing a health and safety crisis due to the lack of heat or air conditioning.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors increased HVAC funding by $10 million to help homeowners ahead of summer to assist with the cost.
For those who are in need of assistance can apply here.
You can also call 602-506-0589.
ABC15 Investigator Nicole Grigg asked the county how long this process takes since some may need emergency assistance.
“Service times can depend on many factors including how quickly an applicant submits their application, provides necessary documentation, and responds to calls from county to coordinate,” a spokesperson wrote by email. “Once an applicant has been determined to be eligible, time to receive service can depend on scheduling with resident, the nature of the repair needed, if there are vulnerable populations in the home (senior adults, disabled adults, young children, medical conditions), and supply chain for materials needed to complete the work.”
The county is also suggesting those in emergency need can contact 2-1-1 Arizona as they can help connect people to A/C repair services but can also direct them to heat relief centers.
Have a story to share? Email ABC15 Investigator Nicole Grigg at nicole.grigg@abc15.com.