Homeless Family Found Dead Inside Van Parked At Garden Grove CVS

GARDEN GROVE, CA — A homeless family, including two young children, perished inside a van they had been living in, police said Friday. All four were found wearing pajamas, in sleeping positions, officials said.

That van had been parked in the Garden Grove Brookhurst CVS lot for several days, according to Garden Grove Police Lt. Carl Whitney. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is thought to be the culprit, according to investigators.

The victims, believed to be living in the van, were discovered at 8:34 p.m. Thursday at 12000 block of Brookhurst St., Whitney said.

Responding officers saw that the van had its windows covered with blankets and a sunscreen before finding the bodies of a man, a woman, a boy and a girl inside. Because the van's "tail pipe was within inches of a grass berm," investigators suspect the family fell victim to carbon monoxide poisoning, as the vehicle was left running to heat up the family as they slumbered, Whitney said.

"It appears they were all sleeping the way they were positioned," Whitney said. "The kids were in pajamas.
The girl was nearly 2 and the boy was less than a year old. It's a tragedy for everyone involved."

A homeless woman, who was acquainted with the family, reported she was walking in the parking lot past the white Honda van when she "smelled the fragrance of death and thought it was an animal in the bushes," Whitney said.

"She thought, 'I haven't seen this family in a couple of days, something's not right,' so she called us," Whitney said.

The van had been backed into a parking stall near the far northeast corner of the shopping center's parking lot, Whitney said. Investigators "preliminarily" have identified the victims, but are awaiting positive identification from the Orange County Coroner's Office, Whitney said.

Garden Grove Police Department Photo