Storm Team 4
Official: five suspected deaths in 5 hours due to Milwaukee heat wave
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office says five people died Friday from causes which, investigators say, could be related to the history-making heat wave over recent days
All five people were found between 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Friday, a day where the high at Mitchell International was 94 degrees, and head indices in the Milwaukee area topped 100 degrees.
A neighbor found Marie Jones, 81, in bushes by her garage Friday afternoon near the corner of North 58th Street and West Keefe Avenue.
She was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's hospital. Her body temperature was reportedly 108 degrees.
Jones was found with grocery bags beside her and car keys in her hand. She had no air conditioning in her home.
Someone asked South Milwaukee Police to make a welfare check on Richard Waliszewski, 67, at his home on the 1700 block of 17th Avenue in South Milwaukee on Friday afternoon.
Police found him at a bottom of a set of stairs in his home. Investigators say his home had no air conditioning, running water or windows that could open.
Jimmy Thompson, 55, was pronounced dead Friday afternoon just outside his home near the corner of North 32nd and West Wells Streets.
His brother said he heard a thud and found Thompson gasping for air.
A police officer told the Medical Examiner's office that the apartment felt as if it was more than 100 degrees.
The brother of Timothy Swieciak, 56, found him dead in his bedroom near the corner of South 59th Street and West Lincoln Avenue in West Allis late Friday afternoon.
He was found in long underwear with a black fleece blanket. Swieciak had a history of diabetes and alcoholism, and was found to be emaciated.
Paul Schmidt, 42, was found in his apartment on the 3200 block of South 35th Street late Friday afternoon.
According to a medical examiner's report, his medical history included hypertension and schizophrenia, and he used a number of medications.
Investigators say his apartment was 93 degrees when they arrived at the scene.
Meteorologists called this the fourth-hottest heat wave in the city's history.
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