--- description: The Sharp family — Kevin Sharp, 41, Amy Sharp, 38, Sterling Sharp, 12, and Adrianna Sharp, 7 – were found dead in Tulum, Mexico, last month. title: Faulty Water Heater to Blame For Death of Iowa Family of Four in Mexico image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1b6b53ac60c46af3/69892cfdab6d7709ee6b2505/akumal-beach.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Crime](/tag/crime/) ## Crime Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Faulty Water Heater to Blame for Deaths of Iowa Family of Four in Mexico, Police Say by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 6, 2018 2:57 PM CUT  The beach at Akumal, Mexico. It is famous for the sea turtles and the ability for tourists to swim with them. This image shows coconut palm trees being blown by the wind and tourists settling down on sun loungers or walking along the beach. The beach at Akumal, Mexico. It is famous for the sea turtles and the ability for tourists to swim with them. This image shows coconut palm trees being blown by the wind and tourists settling down on sun loungers or walking along the beach.Getty Images by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 6, 2018 2:57 PM CUT The family of four from Iowa who [died from inhaling toxic gas](http://time.com/5214682/iowa-family-mexican-resort-autopsy/ "undefined") at a rented condo in Tulum, Mexico, were killed by a faulty water heater that had rusted, according to a new police interview. Police in Tulum told the[ _Des Moines Register_](https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/investigations/2018/04/04/creston-iowa-sharp-family-dead-mexico-water-heater-gas-asphyxiation/486239002/ "undefined")that the couple and their two children died from a gas leak from a Delta Raptor heater, which had been corrupted by rust and had an expired warranty. “There was a leak, and it was coming right from the laundry room,” Christopher Martínez, the main investigator on the case, told the _Register_ through an interpreter. “The laundry room had no ventilation whatsoever.” The Sharp family — Kevin Sharp, 41, Amy Sharp, 38, Sterling Sharp, 12, and Adrianna Sharp, 7 — had left the U.S. for Mexico on March 15\. They were supposed to return to America on March 21, according to a Facebook post from a family member. Prosecutors in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo had ruled the cause of death as “asphyxiation from inhaling toxic gases.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5230715/iowa-family-of-four-dead-mexico-water-heater/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5230715/iowa-family-of-four-dead-mexico-water-heater/"},"headline":"Faulty Water Heater to Blame for Deaths of Iowa Family of Four in Mexico, Police Say","datePublished":"2018-04-06T14:57:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:34:05.730Z","description":"\"There was a leak, and it was coming right from the laundry room\"","url":"https://time.com/5230715/iowa-family-of-four-dead-mexico-water-heater/","keywords":["Crime","Mexico","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1b6b53ac60c46af3/69892cfdab6d7709ee6b2505/akumal-beach.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1b6b53ac60c46af3/69892cfdab6d7709ee6b2505/akumal-beach.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tourists on Akumal beach","caption":"Tourists on Akumal beach","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/crime/","name":"Crime"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5230715/iowa-family-of-four-dead-mexico-water-heater/","name":"Faulty Water Heater to Blame for Deaths of Iowa Family of Four in Mexico, Police Say"}}]}] ```