Couple Found Dead in Running Car in New Haven Parking Garage

Police found a couple dead in a running car in a New Haven parking garage due to possible carbon monoxide poisoning on Sunday morning.

New Haven police discovered Michael Long, 28, of Monroe, and Amy Nicole Nickerson, 20, of New Fairfield, unresponsive in a black VW Jetta with the engine running in the 200 Orchard Street parking garage during a routine check of the garage at about 10:06 a.m. on Oct. 12. Long was in the front seat and Nickerson was found in a back seat.

Medical crews were called to the scene, but they couldn't revive Long or Nickerson, police said.

A death investigator from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Farmington responded and determined in a preliminary evaluation that it "appears the deaths were accidental" and most likely caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, police said in a news release. Neither body showed signs of trauma.

Detectives discovered that one of the tires was "blown out" and a line connecting the engine to the exhaust system was damaged, police said.

Police are waiting for the final report from the Medical Examiner's Office and the case remains under investigation.

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