No Charges To Be Filed In Niles Carbon Monoxide Death

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gaveltakenbyandrew-48

The Berrien County Prosecutor has decided no criminal charges will be sought in the carbon monoxide poisoning death of a 13-year-old boy in the pool area of a Niles hotel. Prosecutor Michael Sepic told us Thursday negligence may have played a role in the April 1 death of Bryan Watts at the Niles Quality Inn, but it did not meet the definition of gross negligence necessary for a criminal charge. Sepic says the poisoning likely resulted from a pool heater ventilation pipe disconnecting from the heater, causing carbon monoxide to leak into a maintenance room and be vented into the pool area. About 10 other people, mostly children, required hospital treatment after being sickened by the carbon monoxide.