Woman, 38, found frozen in unheated apartment in Milwaukee

[Judi Lynn]

Source: News5cleveland


Posted: 11:22 PM, Jan 31, 2019 Updated: 1 hour ago
By: Rich Barak

MILWAUKEE — A 38-year-old woman was found frozen in her unheated apartment in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said Thursday.

The woman was pronounced dead at 7:37 p.m. Wednesday, and an investigation revealed the thermostat malfunctioned.

“I’m in shock,” said Darlene Escalante, who lives in the apartment below the victim. “It’s so sad. How is it even possible? My heat is working perfectly. I didn’t know her well, but we would see each other sometimes. To know she froze to death upstairs, right above me, is so hard.”

“Thirty-eight is too young to die,” added Isaria Encarnacion, who lives nearby. “For a person to freeze to death in her own home is absurd to me. It never should happen.”



Read more: https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/national/woman-38-found-frozen-in-unheated-apartment-in-milwaukee

[msongs]

1. peculiar that she did not ask to stay with a neighbor nt

[Judi Lynn]

2. Is it really worth while to assume she wasn't bright or on good enough terms with others

to look for an alternative place to stay?

[C Moon]

4. I wonder if depression could cause something like this. Very sad.

[Judi Lynn]

6. I would imagine she was very timid, didn't know her neighbors, or was afraid of strangers.

The article said her thermostat was not functioning, maybe she assumed the problem was spread throughout the building, and she should stay in place, try to keep warm the best way she could, and hope for the best.

I surely hope someone will come forward with information about her soon, so people can start reminding themselves to reach out to those they might suspect need help, who might not be inclined to throw themselves on the mercy of strangers for help.

It's not beyond possibility that the woman didn't have appropriate credentials and was afraid for anyone to find out too much about her, because of that.

I noticed her neighbors' names (the ones interviewed) were Spanish.

[Judi Lynn]

7. You're most surely not alone. There are many, many people in the same boat.

They just don't know how many others share their situations.

[marble falls]

11. The truth is I don't know that I would have known where to go if I were in that woman's ...

place. I think I would have covered up and tried to ride it out.

It also could have come up on her before she knew she was in trouble. Freezing can actually make a person feel warm and there are cases where freezing victim actually undress.

[TexasBushwhacker]

17. And her thermostat could have gone out while she was sleeping

The temperature dropped slowly enough that it didn't wake her. Her heart slowed down until it stopped. Just speculating.

[LisaL]

21. That's what I am thinking.

Maybe she was sleeping when thermostat went out and she froze to death never waking up?

[EX500rider]

22. I don't know, I suspect you would wake up when you started shivering.

I have slept in a tent in freezing weather and sleep is not easy when you are really cold.

[TexasBushwhacker]

23. But some people are really deep sleepers

I knew a guy who had to set multiple alarm clocks to wake him up on time in the morning, he just slept so HARD. I'm more likely to wake up because I'm too hot. Being cold makes me sleep much better and I don't wake unless I have a full bladder.

[SunSeeker]

3. OMG

[littlemissmartypants]

8. So terribly sad. nt

[Scruffy1]

9. Really strange.

The temperature was -23 degrees outdoors. I remember when I was young (1970?) and I leved in an old house slated to be torn down. When I got home from work at about 1 am it was -34 degrees F. In the morning I looked over at the space heater and it was dead. I was sleeping in a down sleeping bag and it was ok in there, but eventually had to get out. I made my way to a friends place about 3 blocks away and they had no heat, either. The whole neighborhood had lost gas pressure due to extreme demand from the large UofM campus. In those days we all pretty much lived like hippies and I managed to find a floor to sleep on at another friends place. The whole neighborhood froze up and it took a while to get the plumbing working, but nobody froze to death. Even an unheated appartment will get some heat from the other units and you would be ok with enough blankets.
I was once on a rescue patrol unit and found a couple who had been stuck in their car for over 24 hours in similar temps. They were fine and had the good sense to stay in the car instead of bucking a blizzard. Hypothermia is sneaky. You just get sleepy and go to sleep for the last time. I suspect there were underlying health problems.

[milestogo]

12. Hypothermia deprives the brain of oxygen.

Once that starts to happen people don't think clearly.

[defacto7]

14. True. After a point it actually feels like you're warming up.

By that point there's not much time left.

[RobinA]

16. My Cousin Experienced

hypothermia while in the Air Force stationed at Minot, North Dakota. He said you don't feel cold, you feel sleepy and you don't really care anymore. He apparently didn't even know he was in trouble. Laid down behind an airplane and just wanted to go to sleep. Luckily, he was with people who dragged him out of there, so he didn't suffer any long term effects.

[milestogo]

18. Sounds about right.

There was a woman taking care of a friends dog in the winter. The dog ran out onto a creek - the ice broke and the dog went in the cold water. The woman went out on the ice to get the dog - the ice broke and the woman fell in. The dog was able to swim out. The woman got her self out and laid down on the ground next to the creek.

Fortunately, another person was walking down the street and she saw the woman lying on the ground next to the creek. She said "I fell in the water but I'm ok now. I'm just going to lie here and get some rest". The bypasser called 911. Its a good thing somebody saw her. She could have died.

[Sherman A1]

10. Sad

simply Sad.

[Stuart G]

13. Very sad..

[mpcamb]

15. Rural or urban- Check on your neighbors in storms and weather extremes

especially the old or debilitated ones.

[IcyPeas]

19. they have some Warming Centers too

Lyft was even giving free rides to people in need of the warming centers.

very sad.

[EX500rider]

20. Surprised she didn't close doors/sheet off the kitchen and turn on the oven with the door open. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

25. You think her "stupidity" killed her? I see. n/t

[EX500rider]

28. Just because it is tragic doesn't mean mistakes weren't made, hard to say from the info.

[NutmegYankee]

24. I think the autopsy will shed some light.

Usually this happens in a building after the victim is incapacitated for some medical reason. It's also common for people found on driveways or backyards. They slip and get knocked out without enough clothes and succumb to hypothermia before they can awaken.

[Blue Owl]

26. Have to wonder if she had some kind of medical problem?

Like maybe fainted or passed out somehow?

You would think, or I would hope, that someone in an apartment building would call on a neighbor in an adjoining unit.

No matter what, a truly sad event...

[Judi Lynn]

27. The lady's home doesn't look as if it could be nearly warm enough:

Woman Found Frozen to Death in Unheated Apartment Amid Polar Vortex
By Zack Stieber February 1, 2019

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2019/01/31/womans-frozen-body-discovered-unheated-milwaukee-home/2733073002/

(I wonder why the landlord had not provided storm windows for the rooms. Looks like single panes, with no weather stripping, nothing. A poor tenant simply didn't HAVE a lot of choices, like "why didn't she take a cab to a hotel to wait until the coldness left the area, or go to Mar-a-Lago, for crissakes?" )

(I think it's terrifying that the road goes directly in front of the door step, as if anyone stepping of the stairs could get squashed.)

~ ~ ~

Woman Found Frozen to Death in Unheated Apartment Amid Polar Vortex
By Zack Stieber February 1, 2019

A 38-year-old woman was found frozen to death in her apartment in Wisconsin, authorities said.

The Milwaukee apartment was unheated amid the polar vortex, which brought bitter temperatures to the Midwest.

She was pronounced dead on Jan. 30 at 7:37 p.m. by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office.

“For a person to freeze to death in her own home is absurd to me. It never should happen,” Isaria Encarnacion, who lives nearby, told RTV 6. “Thirty-eight is too young to die.”

More:
https://www.ntd.com/woman-found-frozen-to-death-in-unheated-apartment-amid-polar-vortex_283820.html

"Absurd." I think "tragic," and "heart breaking" would be more decent.