Florida police are investigating the deaths of a mother and her 3-year-old twins, after their bodies were found decomposing inside a Cadillac on Friday.
Officers arrived to the Manatee Cove apartment complex in the city of Mebourne on Sunday night, after a 911 caller reported a suspicious vehicle with a “really bad stench” coming from inside.
“The windows are all fogged. They said there’s like a really bad stench coming out of it,” the caller said, according to WFTV. “But, you can’t see into the car because the windows are so fogged.”
Police identified those inside as Andrea Langhorst, 35, and her twins Olivia and Adam.
Investigators are waiting on autopsy and toxicology reports to learn more about how the family passed away, and how long they remained inside the car.
"It’s still under investigation. We don’t have any information as far as how long they were there. But she was living out of her car," Lt Shaun Hill, spokesman for the Melbourne Police Department, said at the time.
Langhorst, known to friends and family as “Andy”, had been living out of her car and Airbnb rentals with the children. Her family had been trying to reach her since early March without success, and had already asked police to help locate her.
“She was a free spirit, smart as a whip, beautiful, but lived her life to the beat of her own drummer. It’s just a tragedy,” her father Randy told Florida Today. “The twins were her pride and joy. All I can think is that maybe … maybe the car was running and she fell asleep, maybe the fumes overwhelmed them. I don’t know.”
He had been discussing having the children come stay with him, but his daughter refused.
"It was final. It was her decision. We didn’t exactly approve of her lifestyle. Everything is hindsight, but I’ll be kicking my (butt) for the rest of my life," he said.
Mr Langhorst also told the site that he thought drugs may have been involved. Andrea Langhorst had been previously arrested on drug offenses, records show.
Police say there’s no active danger to the community.
