Coroner: Cincinnati heat-death victim misread thermostat

CINCINNATI (AP) — The coroner in Cincinnati says the city’s first heat-related death of the summer occurred when an elderly woman turned on the heat when she meant to turn on her air conditioning.

Hamilton County Coroner O’dell Owens says 84-year-old Fannie Shockley misread the thermostat in her apartment and died June 23, a day the temperature hit 87 degrees outdoors.

Owens said Wednesday that family members who check on her became concerned when she did not answer her phone.

The coroner says some people who live alone have no one to look in on them, which is why some heat death victims are not found until the first of the month. He says that’s when landlords show up to collect rent.