Woman, man living inside box truck in Germantown pronounced dead: Police
The truck, which belonged to the woman, was parked on the 5300 block of Chew Avenue.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police officers made a tragic discovery in the back of a box truck Monday evening in Germantown.
A woman and her homeless boyfriend were found dead lying on a couch under a blanket inside the truck, police say.
According to police, the 43-year-old woman suffered from mental issues and refused her family's pleas to stop living out of the box truck.
The woman's family told police they would check on her regularly. But after not hearing from her for two days, the family went to the box truck and found the couple unresponsive.
Police and medics were called to the scene around 6:30 p.m. The two were pronounced dead a short time later.
The truck, which belonged to the woman, was parked on the 5300 block of Chew Avenue.
Police also found a charcoal grill next to the couch in the truck. They were told the woman and her 60-year-old boyfriend used the grill to stay warm.
But investigators say it did not appear that the grill had been used recently.
"Right now we don't know the cause of death - if it's carbon monoxide poisoning from living in the back of that box truck, we don't know if they died from exposure, because it's cold at night," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. "We're not sure because there were no obvious signs of trauma."
The medical examiner is working to determine what caused their deaths.
