Bodies found; carbon monoxide poisoning suspected

LADSON — The bodies of two Hispanic men were found in a mobile home Friday afternoon.

A gas generator was inside. Authorities said that could have to led to their deaths, but they are waiting for autopsy results.

"We don't want to jump to any conclusions," said Blair Jennings, legal counsel for the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office.

Summer Creek Mobile Home Park Manager Rex Lillard said the men moved into Lot 57, a privately owned rental home, about two weeks ago and were renovating. Lillard said he told them last week that they needed to come to the office and list their names on the park paperwork, but they never did.

Felicia Fleming-Brown lives across the street. She said a Hispanic woman banged on the side of her home about 4:15 p.m. Friday screaming "Policia."

"She was hysterical," Fleming-Brown said. "She said, 'He's on the floor, dead.' "

Fleming-Brown, who speaks some Spanish, helped to translate as the woman told deputies that she found the two men, her boss and her brother-in-law, lying in the home with something coming from their mouths.

That substance appeared to be a frothy foam, said Berkeley County Deputy Coroner George Oliver.

Oliver said the generator inside was the only source of power and was connected to lights, a refrigerator and a portable heater in one of the bedrooms. Generators emit carbon monoxide, a deadly gas that can be fatal.

Read more in Saturday's edition of The Post and Courier.