Oak Lawn Man Attempts Suicide With Gas Leak After Brother Dies
Updated 04/24/14 - 12:39 p.m.
OAK LAWN, Ill. (STMW) -- Police say a despondent man tried to commit suicide by filling his southwest suburban home with natural gas the day after his brother died of a brain tumor.
NICOR was called to a house in the 9600 block of South Mayfield Avenue in Oak Lawn at 7 p.m. Wednesday by neighbors who smelled natural gas, according to a statement from Oak Lawn police.
A NICOR employee recorded a high level gas reading and called 911. Authorities responded and evacuated nearby homes nearby before shutting off the gas line and breaking windows to ventilate the home.
Officers entered the home and found a man dead on a couch. Upstairs, a second man was found unconscious in a bedroom. He was taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
Authorities believe 52-year-old Glenn Griffith passed died of a brain tumor on Tuesday, and his "despondent" 64-year-old brother unattached the home's interior gas lines in an attempt to commit suicide.
The house has now been deemed uninhabitable due to hoarding, police said.
Oak Lawn police continue to investigate.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)