A caretaker is under arrest, charged in connection with the deaths of a mother and her son in the Town of Kendall, Orleans County.
According to autopsy results, Joan C. Gilman and her son, 14-year-old Richard Gilman, had extremely high levels of carbon monoxide in their systems. Their cause of death was found to be, "inhalation of products of combustion." Their bodies were discovered last month inside their apartment on Center Road in Kendall.
39-year-old David Wiley is now charged with two counts of Criminally Negligent Homicide, and two counts of Reckless Endangerment.
According to investigators, Wiley was the “care taker” for the owner of the duplex where the Gilman's were living. The electrical power bills for each apartment were allegedly in Wiley’s name. National Grid shut off the power at the residence on or about April 16th.
Police claim Wiley ran a generator in a closed garage directly beneath the bedroom of the victims for more than 17 hours between April 16th and April 18th.
In a news release issued Thursday evening, the Sheriff's Office stated, "this action was a gross deviation from what would be that of an ordinary prudent person in the same circumstance as to be incompatible with proper regard for human life."
Our 7 Eyewitness News legal expert says investigators must now answer a crucial question in this case. "The question really becomes, do reasonable people know and appreciate the likelihood of carbon monoxide exposure and is this something he should have known, realized and appreciated and therefore avoided or is this just a freak accident and he had no way of knowing that this could happen," said Florina Altshiler.
Wiley is currently being held on $2,500 bail. He's due back in Town of Kenndall Court on May 7.
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