Family members found dead in backyard pool accidentally drowned, says medical examiner

‘Electricity did not play a part in the death of these three victims,’ investigators say

Three family members found dead in their backyard pool earlier this week died from accidental drownings, the Middlesex County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday.

In a joint statement, East Brunswick Police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said speculation that the three may have been electrocuted was incorrect.

“It doesn’t appear that the victims knew how to swim,” the statement said, noting that while part of the pool was 3 1/2 feet deep, another section was twice that.

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Officials identified the dead as Bharat Patel, 62; his daughter-in-law Nisha Patel, 33; and her 8-year-old daughter. As CrimeOnline previously reported, a neighbor said the family had just had the pool serviced and were excited to use it.

East Brunswick police responded to a call from a neighbor who reported hearing a woman screaming Monday afternoon. When they arrived, all three victims were unresponsive in the pool, and paramedics were unable to revive them.

Police said that another adult was inside the home at the time of the incident. A CBS New York video taken at the scene showed a distraught man in the front yard of the home, being comforted by a group of people surrounding him.

[Feature image: Patti Black on Unsplash]