2 contractors charged in carbon monoxide death of Evergreen college student
Aug 7, 2024, 3:37 PM
Evergreen State College confirms it has reached a $25 million settlement with the family of a student who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in campus housing. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
Two contractors are now charged in the 2023 carbon monoxide death of an Evergreen State College student.
According to court documents from Thurston County Superior Court, Frank McCutcheon, 53, and Brett McCutcheon, 32, are both charged with second-degree manslaughter after investigators concluded they failed to follow an installation manual and incorrectly installed air intake and exhaust venting for a new tankless water heater inside an on-campus student apartment.
Student, Jonathan Rodriguez, 21 years old, died from carbon monoxide poisoning on December 11. Two other students and a responding Evergreen police officer were hospitalized, according to prosecutors.
Previous coverage: 1 student dead by suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at Evergreen State College
Thurston County prosecutors charged the father and son contractors on July 11 after they received a final report on the incident from the Washington State Patrol (WSP).
Court documents state the new tankless water heater was installed between Dec. 1-5 and the father and son were working for Olympia Sheet Metal at the time. Frank McCutcheon appeared in court for his arraignment this week and pleaded not guilty. Brett McCutcheon is scheduled to be arraigned in September.
According to charging documents, a forensic expert from Bison Engineering, a Texas-based forensic engineering firm hired by WSP, concluded the McCutcheon’s work to be negligent and “in violation of the national code to such a degree that it was outside the acceptable practice in the field … a gross deviation from what reasonable people in the same situation would do.”
According to prosecutors, more than 20 times the acceptable limit of carbon monoxide to spread through Rodriguez’s apartment.
WSP’s report also stated Evergreen maintenance workers were contacted by residents alerting them to carbon monoxide alarms going off the day of the incident. The report stated staff considered the alarms to be false and disarmed them. A technician responded to the apartment hours later and discovered the students unconscious, according to investigators.
WSP: Carbon monoxide alarms sounded, but Evergreen State students were sent back in
According to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industry, Brett McCutcheon is a certified contractor and has 3,296 hours in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration industry. No current certification was found on a search for Frank McCutcheon.
Their trial is scheduled for October.
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