A homicide official Tuesday said the deaths of two Acton women whose bodies were found inside a trailer in a big rig and RV storage yard were considered accidental.
Lt. Mike Modica of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau said the official determination was not yet posted on the L.A. County Medical Examiner’s Office website pending toxicology tests from the autopsy. However, death investigators were able to determine the likely cause to be carbon monoxide poisoning based on the conditions of the bodies.
Rosa Sandoval Rodriguez, 76, and Aida Bensimon, 50, were believed to be homeless and staying the night inside the storage yard at 32600 Santiago Road, which did not have vehicle hookups for water and electricity, he said. The temperature lows dipped into the 30s the early-morning hours of the day they died, according to the National Weather Service.
Modica speculated that due to the cold and the lack of power in the unit, it’s likely the women burned something to create heat, and the unit did not have proper ventilation.
The two women were found during a welfare check at 5:35 p.m. Jan. 26 by the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station, according to a Nixle alert.
A man also was arrested near the scene on suspicion of drug possession, according to Modica, but he was not believed to be a suspect in the investigation.
