Abby Lutz and John Heathco thought they had food poisoning and went to the hospital just days before they were found dead inside their luxury hotel room in Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, according to a GoFundMe shared by Lutz’s family.
Heathco, 41, and Lutz, 28, died from “intoxication by substance yet to be determined,” officials said after initial reports claimed the couple’s cause of death was from inhalation of gas.
In the days before their sudden deaths at the Hyatt’s luxury Rancho Pescadero resort, the couple seemingly got sick from food poisoning, according to Lutz’s family, who wrote on a GoFundMe to raise money for the funeral costs.
“While on a beautiful trip to Mexico, Abby and her boyfriend thought they had food poisoning and went to the hospital to get treatment.
“We were told they were feeling much better a few days later,” the family wrote.
“We received a phone call saying that they had passed away peacefully in their hotel room in their sleep. We have been told it was due to improper venting of the resort and could be carbon monoxide poisoning.”
The grieving family noted that Lutz’s death was “completely unexpected,” and that her dad had been looking forward to seeing her this weekend for Father’s Day.
Lutz, from Newport Beach, California, worked as Nanny while her live-in partner Heathco was a computer engineer and self-described “health and wellness junkie”.
“We are trying to get Abby home to us so we can have the funeral she deserves,” the family wrote on the fundraiser. “Our family would be so grateful for any help. Abby was the most beautiful soul and we will miss her so much.”
By Thursday afternoon, the family had received over 100 donations, raising over $7,000 out of a $10,000 goal.
There were no signs of violence on either of the couple’s bodies when first responders found them around 9 p.m. in their room at the Pescadero, where rooms cost over $500 a night.
The couple had been dead for about 10 to 11 hours before their bodies were discovered by police and paramedics, who were responding to reports of the two Americans being unconscious, authorities said.
Several Americans have died because of gas inhalation at Mexican resorts in recent years.
Last October, three Americans were found dead at a rented apartment in Mexico, apparently of gas inhalation, and in 2018, a gas leak in a water heater killed an American couple and their two children at a resort in Tulum.
Lutz and Heathco were both pronounced dead at the scene.
The general manager of Rancho Pescadero, Henar Gil, said he would not talk about the couple’s cause of death, but issued a statement Thursday in an apparent attempt to reassure guests.
“The safety and security of our guests and colleagues is always a top priority. Local authorities confirmed there was no evidence of violence related to this isolated incident, and there is no threat to guests’ safety or wellbeing at this time,” he said.
The local attorney general is overseeing the investigation.
