Two parents tragically lost their lives in a scalding motel bathtub after a night of partying to celebrate their four-year-old daughter’s birthday. Jeferson Luiz Sagaz, 37, and his partner Ana Carolina Silva, 41, had spent the day marking their daughter’s special day at a food park before drinking and heading to a nightclub.
The couple, who left their daughter with Jeferson’s sister, checked into the Dallas Motel in São José, located in Brazil’s Santa Catarina state, just after midnight on August 11. However, the parents never returned the next morning to pick up their child, prompting concerned relatives to contact the police.
After a missing persons report was filed, officers discovered the lifeless bodies of the couple in the motel bathroom. Investigators later concluded that the couple had lost consciousness in a bathtub filled with 122°F water while a space heater pumped heat into the room.
CCTV footage and an inspection of their vehicle also played a role in piecing together the events. A toxicology report revealed that the couple had extremely high blood alcohol levels, along with traces of cocaine, as reported by local news outlet Globo G1.
Brazil’s Chief Medical Examiner Andressa Boer Fronza explained, “The cause of both deaths was exogenous poisoning, favouring the process of heatstroke with intense dehydration, thermal collapse, culminating in organ failure and death.”
Investigators conducted 16 forensic tests to rule out other potential causes of death, including electric shock, drowning, carbon monoxide poisoning, or foul play. The findings strongly suggested that the heat exposure was the primary factor leading to the couple’s tragic demise.
Jeferson and Ana had been together for nearly two decades and were known for being loving parents and social individuals. Police reported no history of violence in their relationship. However, Ana’s family dismissed suggestions that she was a regular drug user, raising concerns about whether she was coerced into consuming cocaine.
Chief Simão noted, “It may be that the physical constitution, both his and hers, was not compatible with the use of a substance like that, especially when combined with alcohol.” In the wake of this devastating incident, their daughter is now under the care of relatives.
The tragedy follows a similar heartbreaking event in which a student died after being found lifeless in a hot tub on her 22nd birthday, sparking speculations that high water temperatures could have contributed to her death.