Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced that no criminal charges will be filed against the mother of two children who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in a Detroit van. The children, a 9-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl, were living in the van in a casino parking garage. Prosecutor Worthy said there is not enough evidence to bring criminal charges, as reported by Click on Detroit.
On February 10, 2025, a family's van, which had been their home for three months, stopped working because of a mechanical problem. It was first thought to have run out of gas, but after installing a new battery, tests showed a carbon monoxide leak that happened within minutes of running the vehicle, according to CBS News Detroit. This leak was identified as the cause of the poisoning.
On a night with temperatures in the teens and wind chills below zero, a mother, her five children, and her mother stayed in the Greektown Casino Parking Garage in Detroit. The next morning, two of the children were found unresponsive and later died at the hospital. Worthy said, "However, we remain very concerned about the welfare of the remaining living children," as per Fox 2 Detroit. In the following year, organizations provided assistance to the family, and the city worked to improve access to homelessness resources. An investigation using surveillance footage, interviews, and forensic testing found no criminal charges against the mother.
