LONDON, Ky. — Kentucky authorities say two more deaths have been connected to last week’s winter storms.
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that a preliminary autopsy report shows that a married couple found dead Sunday at their home in London died of hypothermia.
Deputies responded to the home of James and Dinah Duff after an acquaintance conducting a welfare check found the couple dead.
Sheriff’s Deputy Gilbert Acciardo told the Lexington Herald-Leader that the home had no power for some period before the couple was found because snow and ice from the storms had damaged power lines.
Last week, a Laurel County woman died and her family members were sickened by a build up of carbon monoxide in their home after they began using a generator when they lost electric power.
An initial police investigation showed the home was without power due to the winter weather and the occupants of the residence had been using a fuel-operated generator to help operate a basement sump pump, according to the Kentucky State Police.
The woman was identified as Darlene G. Skinner Ragland, 61, according to authorities. She was pronounced dead at Baptist Health in Corbin.
Her husband, Tony Ragland, and a grandchild were treated and released from the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can sicken and kill people and animals if levels are high enough.
