Bizarre: Girl Killed In Her Sleep From Wearing Earbuds While iPhone Was Charging
Houston, Texas – Gabrielle Samuels, 19, of Houston, Texas died in her sleep last night while listening to music on her charging iPhone.
Samuels was listening to iTunes on her iPhone 6 Plus while attempting to fall asleep. The 19-year-old did nothing more than what she does every night before going to bed. She just graduated high school and was enjoying her summer break before attending college this fall. Sadly, this night would be the last night Samuels would enjoy her bedtime playlist.
Reports indicate that the parents had left for work around 8 AM in the morning and had not seen their daughter. Samuel’s boyfriend, Hassan Gates, called Samuel sever times only to get her voicemail.
“I called my girlfriend about four or five times but it kept going to voicemail,”said Gates. “This wasn’t normal. My girl always answers the phone when I call or she text me if she can talk. Since she didn’t answer, I drove to her house to see if she was home.”
Gates gruesome discovery would forever change him in the Samuels family. Gates was given a key to the Samuels residence prior to this incident in case of emergencies.
Gates used that key to access the home where he noticed a “burnt” smell.
“I thought I smelled burnt bacon so I checked the kitchen first. I just saw a box of cereal on the table and two have filled cups of coffee. Since I didn’t see any cooked food, I decided to go upstairs and surprised my girl. The burnt smell got stronger as I got upstairs. When I open the door to Gabby’s room, it smelled like someone had been barbecuing, that’s when I found Gabby in bed. I immediately ran over to her to see if she was okay but she was unresponsive so I called 911,” Gates said.
According to authorities, Samuels fell asleep around 12:15 AM in her bedroom. The young woman had finished a conversation with her boyfriend shortly before starting up her playlist around 3 AM. That’s about the time authorities say the device malfunction, resulting in the death of Samuels.
Medical examiners at the scene determine Samuels was electrocuted by the iPhone as the cause of death. Officials also discover that Samuels was not using an official licensed Apple iPhone charger, which they believe contributed to the malfunctioning of the device.
“The charger failed to safely conduct the electricity from the outlet to the device. When the charger failed, the electricity surged from the outlet directly to the device sending the current through the connected earbuds Samuels was using. The amount of electricity that surged through the device was too much for the body, causing Samuels to be electrocuted. We have ruled out the iPhone 6 as it was not the cause, however the faulty unofficial charging unit was the only contributing factor,” according to officials.
The investigation will continue to find out where the charger was purchased. Officials have not found any foul play at this time.
