A memorial service will be held in Salisbury Thursday for two children who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in Elkin last week.
Jessica Lynn Gilliam, 8, and Arthur “Buddy-Buddy” Blackwell, 7, died after being overcome by fumes from a generator in their home. They were the children of Kathryn Elizabeth Gilliam and had relatives in Salisbury – aunt Sue Park and husband Mark.
The Elkin Tribune reported that the children and two animals were found dead in the front bedroom of a home at 211 Elk Spur St., Elkin early in the morning of Oct. 3. Their mother was found collapsed in the hallway.
Investigators believe a running generator in the house caused the carbon monoxide poisoning. The generator was found hooked up to the refrigerator in the kitchen, the Tribune reported.
The children and their mother had moved into the house that day, and the house did not have “normal power service,” the paper reported. Two friends who had helped the family move returned to the house Wednesday and found them.
After a graveside service in Elkin, a memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday at Christ United Methodist Church in Salisbury.
A special Jessica Gilliam and Arthur Blackwell Memorial Account has been set up through Johnson Funeral Home at Yadkin Valley Bank, Elkin, to help with expenses.