Elderly Couple Freezes to death in their home

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This isn't really a crime, but it should be:
http://www.kamc28.com/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=1321
The Lubbock County Medical Examiners Office says an elderly couple found dead froze to death. Ida Quiroz, 87, and her husband, Alfredo, 76, were found in their home at 615 28th Street just after 6 p.m. Monday.

Their natural gas had been turned off since October, their electricity and water since August. The Quiroz`s died because they couldn`t pay their utility bills.

Not sure what to do with it and wishing they could have done more, nieces and nephews on Tuesday boarded up the couple`s home.

"It`s tragic, they were good people," says Greg Hoeve, who has a shop nearby.

Married more than 50 years, but with no children of their own, they died the way they would have wanted to: together. But they were forced to freeze.

EDITED DUE TO COPYRIGHT INFRINGMENT



their family tried to pay the Gas & Electric companies and were refused because they were not listed as the account holder..:furious: :furious: :furious:



 
Insane!! The untility compnay here would take anybody's money to pay a bill, even if they weren't on the account. The just black out the account # on the reciept. Very traggic.
 
In Minnesota I believe it cannot be turned off during freezing weather.

Eve
 
eve said:
In Minnesota I believe it cannot be turned off during freezing weather.

Eve
Click to expand...
It's the same in Chicago where my hubby is from, during the winter months they can not turn of any utilities for nonpayment.
 
Ok this is just terrible, I work for a gas and electric
company on the East Coast that services four different
states. In all states we can turn off services if the temp
will be above 32 degrees by noon. If below we can not
or if the Customer is on some sort of winter protection
plan. Not sure how it works there though.
Also we will take a payment from anyone you just
give us a name or address and the amount you want
to pay and we will take. We won't however give out
any account information such as amounts etc.

If the family knew they were with out heat why didn't
they try and take them in or move them?
 
Patty said:
Ok this is just terrible, I work for a gas and electric
company on the East Coast that services four different
states. In all states we can turn off services if the temp
will be above 32 degrees by noon. If below we can not
or if the Customer is on some sort of winter protection
plan. Not sure how it works there though.
Also we will take a payment from anyone you just
give us a name or address and the amount you want
to pay and we will take. We won't however give out
any account information such as amounts etc.

If the family knew they were with out heat why didn't
they try and take them in or move them?
Click to expand...
From what was said on the news, they were too proud to accept help. Their neice had tried giving them money and they wouldn't take it. I guess we don't have laws like that here because it rarely gets that cold. We haven't really had a winter at all this year (05-06), but we have had at least 2 weeks of freezing temps, if not more.
 
I am shocked that this happens in this country. I know that here, in WI, they cannot shut your power/utilities off between Nov and March. My husband works for a power company, and he said that if someone is having difficulties paying during these months, it affects your credit, but they wont shut you off. How unbelievable. I wonder what her sister meant by she "Tried" to pay their bills secretly. Was she not able to? How sad.
 
As sad as this is I wonder why the family didn't try to go through the courts?

I mean that if the couple refused to accept help and were living without any heat endangering themselves couldn't a family member petition the court for power of attorney?
 
This is terrible. Sometimes elderly people need more care!

I check that box on my bils to donate a dollar more a month to help pay for people's bills that get shut off like this. How does this happen? Do the utility companies try to work with people in this situation? This is ludicrous.
 
mssheila said:
I am shocked that this happens in this country. I know that here, in WI, they cannot shut your power/utilities off between Nov and March. My husband works for a power company, and he said that if someone is having difficulties paying during these months, it affects your credit, but they wont shut you off. How unbelievable. I wonder what her sister meant by she "Tried" to pay their bills secretly. Was she not able to? How sad.
Click to expand...
No, she wasn't able to, the gas co wouldn't let her because she isn't on the account. That has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard, dh and I both said we would have paid their bills if we had known about it. But, I guess Atmos wouldn't have let us pay it because we wouldn't have been on their account wither. Sadly, the couple never contacted anyone for help, there are plenty of agencies around that would have helped them, their pride and dignity kept them from accepting help and sadly they lost their lives.
 
This is so sad. Can you imagine that little old couple living with no heat, water or lights for months???? I think the light company should have to answer for this. It is ridicilous that the family was not allowed to pay the bill. There is no excuse for this.

People the ages of these elderly people were raised in an era where you didn't ask for handouts. Shame would have kept them from reaching out for help. They must not have been getting much in the way of social security. I wonder if they had food and if so how they were cooking it.
 
jodieo said:
From what was said on the news, they were too proud to accept help. Their neice had tried giving them money and they wouldn't take it. I guess we don't have laws like that here because it rarely gets that cold. We haven't really had a winter at all this year (05-06), but we have had at least 2 weeks of freezing temps, if not more.
Click to expand...


I'm here in town too and my combined electric, gas, and water/sewer bills this month are $400. That is up over $100 more than usual. That is probably what happened to the couple's utilities these past months. Jacked up prices just like people have predicted. I'll bet that the elderly couple didn't realize that they couldn't take the weather like when they were younger and thought that they could manage due to our milder winter this year and just pay that bill off a little each month as they were able. It's so sad. I have LP&L and due to their change of my billing dates after 30 some years , they send me a threat each month but did tell me on the phone that they might not turn it off if there are health problems but I do believe that the companies here will turn off services in the winter or heat of summer because I've known people that it has happened to.
 
This is ridiculous. The responsibility lies in the hand of the BOARD OF HEALTH. No one is allowed to live in home without water. These people should have been evicted back in the summer when the water was turned off. A full scale investigation should be done.
 
That's a damn shame!!! We don't live in Lubbock but we live in TX and our electric bill has gone up 14% or so since Oct.. Thankd goodness we can pay our bill but it is inching up there. It was $30 more dollars this year than this time last year. Just the other day I told my BF what are poor people who can't pay their bill gonna do?
 
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