At least 19 cold deaths reported in Cook County this winter
SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE - While most people would agree that this has been a mild winter in Chicago, the weather still took a toll. At least 19 cold-related deaths have been reported this winter in Cook County, according to the medical examiner’s office.
The most recent cold-related deaths were an elderly couple found dead in their home in the West Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side.
Officers found 93-year-old Inez Diaz and her 88-year-old husband, Patrick Diaz, unresponsive at their home about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 10 in the 11800 block of South Normal, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Autopsies found they died of hypothermia and cold exposure, according to the medical examiner’s office. Their deaths were ruled accidents.
At least 17 other people have died of cold-related causes in Cook County since Oct. 22, 2016, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Last winter, at least 22 people died of cold-related causes, according to the medical examiner’s office.