Man froze to death inside his unheated home after living with no power for months
(WNEM) — A family is struggling to come to the terms with the loss of their loved one after he died of hypothermia inside his Michigan home.
According to family, Arnoul Jaros’s body was found at a home in Tittabawassee Township on Saturday, Feb. 15.
“He had froze to death,” said Karin Jaros, Arnoul’s sister-in-law.
Tittabawassee Township Police confirmed Arnoul died of hypothermia, as the temperature inside the home was 25 degrees.
Karin said it’s hard to think about how he died.
“Losing someone but actually mourning the torture they went through prior to death is unspeakable,” Karin said.
Karin said the last time they saw Arnoul was in November.
She said when the family went to check on him recently, they didn’t get an answer and almost left.
“He didn’t answer the door, which is not unusual. They didn’t see any tracks in the driveway. They were preparing to leave and back out and they checked the mail and it was stuffed full,” Karin said.
The family called 911 and when they gained access inside the home, they found Arnoul’s body.
“Everything was frozen in the house. There were mugs of beverages that were frozen solid,” Karin said.
Police also said Arnoul was emaciated, but said that wasn’t the cause of death.
The family learned Consumers Energy had shut off the gas and electricity last year.
Consumers Energy confirmed the company had cut off natural gas to the home in May 2019 and the electricity was shut off in July 2019 because the bills were not getting paid.
The balance was later paid in July. However, Consumers Energy said it did not receive a request to restore the utilities, nor did it receive a payment for the restoration fee.
Consumers Energy said instructions to restore service appear on all customer shut-off notices.
“We are currently working with local law enforcement officials to understand more about the situation and are reviewing this person’s account records,” the company wrote in a statement. “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to this person’s friends and loved ones.”
Karin said the family had no idea Arnoul was living like that. She said he did not let on about his situation.
“We have no idea why Arnoul kept this from us. If he was embarrassed, if he thought he could handle it, if he thought he could fix it,” Karin said.
Police said there were no signs of foul play.
However, police said the report will be turned over to the Saginaw County Prosecutor’s Office for review to determine if any further investigation is needed.
Karin said she’ll never know why he didn’t take the steps to restore his utilities. She said there should be safeguards in place to prevent something similar from happening to someone else.
“I do think it’s very dangerous to turn off someone’s power without a safety net. He lived in Falcon View Estates which is a senior 55 and older community. There’s people in that age group, especially that have dementia, may forget to pay their bills. Have a safety net where someone is informed,” Karin said.
If you or a loved one is having trouble paying energy bills, you’re asked to call 211, which helps provide various amount of resources.
Photo Credit: kmov.com