Heat wave blamed for deaths of elderly R.I. couple
CENTRAL FALLS, R.I.—Medical authorities suspect a record-setting heat wave may have killed an elderly Central Falls couple found in their sweltering apartment.
Police say 84-year-old Raymond Desjardins was discovered dead Wednesday in an apartment where temperatures hit 102 degrees. His wife, 86-year-old Rolande Desjardins, had collapsed and later died at a hospital.
A spokeswoman for the state medical examiner says the deaths appear to be heat related.
The couple's landlord told police that he last saw Raymond Desjardins Tuesday night when the elderly man complained about the heat. The landlord says he offered to let the couple to stay in his home where it was cooler, but Desjardins declined.
More than 30 other deaths have been attributed to the four-day heat wave on the East Coast.
