One Woman Dead In Hydrogen Cyanide Incident Was Also Shot

ST. LOUIS, MO — When two women were found dead yesterday in their north St. Louis home, police initially said high levels of hydrogen cyanide — an odorless but extremely poisonous gas — was to blame. The story now seems to be more complicated, after investigators determined at least one of the women had been shot to death, the Post-Dispatch reports.

Paramedics were called to the 3100 block of Whittier Street, southwest of Fairground Park, around 9 a.m. Tuesday morning after the boyfriend of one of the women discovered their bodies. Officials still haven't determined the source of the deadly gas, but say it can be created by improperly mixing household chemicals. The Post-Dispatch reports that one woman appears to have died from inhaling the gas, the other appears to have shot herself.

The women are said to be sisters, both in their 50s. Their names have not been released.

Police say the deaths are still being investigated as an accident, though the investigation is still in its early stages.

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