Maricel Martinez, 47, a Spanish teacher at St. Albert the Great Catholic School in Huntingdon Valley, her husband, Jorge Cardona, 56, a cleaner at Springfield Township High School, and their daughter, Angelina Cardona, 12, were found unresponsive inside their Northeast Philadelphia home on Thursday, February 15.
NBC10 reported at the time that police believed the family lost consciousness from carbon monoxide poisoning. All three victims were pronounced dead that afternoon.
On Friday, February 23, NBC10 followed up with details about the incident and more information about each family member.
Martinez’s brother told NBC10 she had gone to the hospital on February 11 because she was experiencing headaches, and a neighbor said they saw Jorge Cardona trying to fix something in the chimney prior to his death.
Investigators have not released an official cause of death but suspect the family died from carbon monoxide poisoning, police said.
Jorge Cardona
Jorge Cardona was born in Filandia, Colombia on Aug. 4, 1967. He later moved to Philadelphia where he worked as a custodian for Springfield Township Schools. He married Maricel Martinez in May 2013.
Cardona was described as the “life of the party” and extremely charitable. Orama, meanwhile, described her coworker as a man who was fun to be around.
Maricel Martinez
Martinez was born in Yumbo, Colombia on Dec. 15, 1975. After moving to Philadelphia, she worked hard to become a teacher despite dealing with health challenges, according to her obituary. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in education from Temple University and worked for 20 years as a teacher.
She was described by loved ones as “ambitious, intelligent, and deeply loving.”
Angelina Cardona
Angelina Cardona had just celebrated her 12th birthday on February 10, less than a week before her death.
A spokesperson for St. Albert the Great said that Angelina was a student in the 5th grade.
“Angelina, a proud member of this year’s 5th grade class, will be remembered by many here as a bright, spirited, and always smiling student, who had a passion for drawing and reading,” the spokesperson wrote.
NBC10’s video coverage can be found below:
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Screengrab: NBC10