PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — A divorced father and the seven children he was trying to raise on a kitchen worker's salary were poisoned in their sleep by carbon monoxide only days after the power company discovered a stolen meter and cut off electricity to their rental home, police said Tuesday.
Delmarva Power said it did not cut off the family's electricity because they were behind on their bills, but for safety reasons after discovering the illegal connection March 25.
Rodney Todd, 36, then bought a gas-powered generator and installed it in his kitchen to keep his two sons and five daughters warm. Friends and relatives last saw them alive March 28.
"The children were all in beds, and it appears as though they were sleeping," Princess Anne police Chief Scott Keller said. "Probably it was bedtime and they decided they needed some light and probably some heat, because toward the end of March even though it was spring we were having some pretty chilly nights."
Police found their bodies Monday inside the one-story wood-frame home on Maryland's Eastern Shore after school workers, friends and Todd's co-workers knocked on the door with no answer.
"I'm just numb. Like it's a nightmare but it's not," the children's mother, Tyisha Luneice Chambers, told the Associated Press on Tuesday. "If I had known he was without electricity, I would have helped."
Why Todd had a generator running indoors wasn't clear. The chief ruled out foul play and speculated that had it been outside, the noise would have bothered neighbors.
Matt Likovich, a spokesman for Delmarva Power, said Tuesday that the utility was not contacted to have power restored in the home after the illegal meter was removed. "We had no record of who was living there," Likovich said. "There was no way to determine what their situation was."
Likovich said customers are encouraged to contact the utility if they are having difficulty paying their bill. He says there are options for such customers, including partnerships with social service agencies. But, he said, the customers "have to contact us."
The police chief said the utility has been subpoenaed to document exactly what it did when. Maryland's Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, also is investigating.
Maryland regulations allow utility companies to terminate service without notice if the utility finds a condition on the customer's premise is hazardous or the customer has tampered with the utility's equipment.
Florida's administrative code establishes rules governing utility shut-offs, though no seasonal adjustments apply.
Utilities must notify a customer who has failed to pay the bills at least five working days before discontinuing service, in writing. For non-commercial customers, utilities may not shut off power on weekends or holidays, unless a customer requests it or hazardous conditions prevail.
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Explore all your optionsFlorida's code does not prohibit or mandate a utility from working with a customer on payment arrangements to avoid disconnection, said Cynthia Muir, director of the Florida Public Service Commission's office of consumer assistance and outreach.
Sen. James Mathias Jr., a Democrat who represents Princess Anne, addressed Maryland's Senate on Tuesday, asking his fellow lawmakers to work with agencies and neighborhood groups to make certain the eight deaths were not in vain.
Although Todd got some welfare money, it wasn't enough to pay the bills, his close friend Sarah Hardy said Tuesday morning.
"How can a man survive off of basically minimum wage with seven kids, and you can't help him with a utility bill?" Hardy asked. "This man was working. And Delmarva Power cuts the lights off?"
Later Tuesday, the utility revealed that the rental home never had legal power while the Todds lived there. The utility said the electricity had been disconnected in October, and there was no request to reconnect it after the family moved there in November.
"Through the use of smart meter technology, Delmarva Power discovered a stolen electric meter was being used at the home on March 25, 2015. Delmarva Power disconnected the illegally connected meter for safety reasons and to comply with standard protocol. Delmarva Power did not disconnect electric service at this address for nonpayment," its statement said.
Bonnie Edwards said her grandsons, Cameron and ZhiHeem, were 13 and 7, and her granddaughters, Tyjuziana, Tykeria, Tynijuzia, TyNiah and Tybreyia, were 15, 12, 10, 9 and 6, respectively.
Times staff writer Claire McNeill contributed to this report.