Elderly Woman Dies From Heat After A/C Theft

79-year-old reported it missing two days before death
By Tim Karan,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 5, 2011 4:23 PM CDT
Elderly Woman in Texas Dies from Heat After Theft of Air Conditioner
An elderly Texas woman died of heat exhaustion two days after her air conditioner was stolen.   (Shutterstock)

Somebody took a lot more than just an air conditioner from an elderly Texas woman. Two days after the 79-year-old reported her $2,500 unit stolen from the back of her home, she died of heat exhaustion, reports the Christian Post. It was the fourth time she had had her A/C unit stolen.

The timing of the latest theft was unfortunately during the hottest month in the history of the state. Air conditioner theft apparently is a booming business in her Dallas-area neighborhood. "You don't have to walk inside pawn shops to ask 'em if they have them," says a neighbor. "You drive by it and they're sitting right up front; central air conditioning units and window units." (More air conditioning stories.)

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