[Unrecognized carbon monoxide poisoning--the importance of subsequent studies in death with undetermined cause]

The author reports a case of an old man and his wife, who were found dead in the bedroom of their apartment with signs of putrifaction. The physician certified an internal cause of death respectively death by an overdosage of drugs. But toxicological investigations induced by a forensic scientist proved, that death was due to poisoning with carbon monoxide. Blood saturation levels were 70 and 66 per cent. The origin of the intoxication was a malfunctioning gas geyser in the kitchen. The heater had been installed many years previously and had not been checked by competent authorities in the last 6 years. If the poisoning had not been detected, other people might come into the risk of a fatal accident too.