By Shawn Regan
The Eagle-Tribune
HAVERHILL, Mass. — Police are investigating whether a heroin overdose killed the husband and wife found dead in their home Saturday morning by their two children.
The 39-year-old man and 36-year-old woman were found dead at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, investigators said.
The couple’s 10-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter found them unresponsive in the morning and called their grandmother, investigators said.
Carrie Kimball-Monahan, spokeswoman for the Essex County District Attorney’s office, said Sunday detectives assigned to District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s office were dispatched to the two-unit home at 7 Lamoille Ave. The home is behind Ari’s Pizza on South Main Street and a short walk from the Bradford Fire Station.
Monahan said the Department of Children & Families was notified and that the children are in the custody of the grandmother.
A day after the bodies were found, Kimball-Monahan would only characterized the deaths as “a private matter” because they occurred inside the home and declined to release the names or any details about what happened.
Kimball-Monahan said she spoke to Haverhill Deputy Police Chief Donald Thompson and that they agreed not to release any information about the deaths, except to say the deaths were “unattended” and that foul play is not suspected.
Mayor James Fiorentini also said he was not able to comment on the cause of death due to the fact they are under investigation by state police detectives assigned to Blodgett’s office.
But authorities close to the investigation said heroin is being investigated as a possible cause of the deaths.
If heroin was the cause, the couple’s deaths would bring the number of people who have died in Haverhill from heroin overdoses this year to 24. More than 130 heroin overdose have been recorded so far this year in Essex County.
A woman who answered the door at the two-story home Sunday afternoon identified herself as the owner of the property. The woman, however, refused to provide her name or the names of her first-floor tenants.
The large brown home was decked with holiday decorations, including four wreaths on the front of the building. A decorative snowman draped with the words “Merry Christmas” stood next to the front door and a pair of white ice-skates tangled in gold bulbs hung next to it.
A neighbor next door who also declined to identify himself said the deceased couple had only recently moved into the home. He said police and firefighters were “all over the place” Saturday morning, but that he did not know anyone had died until he read it in the newspaper.
Coincidentally, the Salvation Army scheduled a candlelight walk and vigil Sunday at Haverhill City Hall. The “No More” vigil was held to remember those who have lost their lives to drugs. Organizers aimed to send a message that people who are addicted to drugs can get help.
On Thursday, all Haverhill’s patrolmen were outfitted with nasal spray devices to administer Narcan, a potentially life-saving drug that reverses the effect of heroin in people overdosing. City officials said they are awaiting state authorization to allow firefighters to also administer Narcan.
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©2014 The Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, Mass.)