Something does not add up - he dies in 5 layers of clothing - so he knew it was cold, the story also says that it took several days for him to die (presumably as the house got colder and colder). Yet he fails to check WHY his heat is not on or why he has no/limited electricity? Nor does he call anyone? From the story it's evident that he also would have died if his furnace quit working. If this is the case, then he must have lost significant mental capacity to look after himself and probably should not have been living alone in the first place. If my house's lights/heat go out and I am in the middle of winter I don't just sit there cooling off, I do something about it. It seems to me that the utility co while not blameless is taking more than its fair share of the blame, what about neighbors, family, friends. The story also implies that leaving a note on the door was inadequate - while the largest evidence that something was amiss, the fact that he had no/limited power, goes unmentioned. Is the POCO totally to blame because they don't provide social services checking on residents ability to pay? I dont buy it, we are not getting the complete story.
