Case delayed against former manager of Boone motel

Posted on May 10, 2015 by

See Article Source Posted in Tourism — No Comments ↓

Posted: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 9:40 am
|

Updated: 10:00 am, Wed Apr 22, 2015.

Associated Press |

BOONE, N.C. (AP) — The criminal case has been delayed for the former manager of a Boone motel where three guests died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Multiple media outlets reported that prosecutor Matt Rupp asked a judge in Boone to delay the case against 51-year-old Damon Mallatere until July 6.

Rupp said prosecutors and defense attorneys need more time to discuss the case.

Mallatere was indicted last year on manslaughter charges in the 2013 deaths of Daryl and Shirley Jenkins of Longview, Washington, as well as Jeffrey Williams of Rock Hill, South Carolina. Malletere also is charged with assault in the poisoning of Jeffrey’s mother, who survived.

The couple died in April 2013. The 11-year-old boy died in the same room two months later.

Mallatere said if he is arraigned on the charges, he will plead not guilty.

He said after the couple died in the room, he asked the maintenance supervisor to have someone check for natural gas leaks. A contractor said everything was working.

“We had no visit from any authorities after the Jenkinses’ deaths,” Mallatere said. He had no reason to think there was anything wrong with the room at the time.

Mallatere said he was told by a police detective that authorities suspected heart attacks.

After the boy died and his mother was injured, investigators found deadly levels of carbon monoxide leaking from the swimming pool water heater on the floor below. The gas seeped through holes in a corroded exhaust pipe and up into the room through the fireplace, and possibly also through the heating and air conditioning unit.