'Deaf' Couple Killed

From: New York Post, NY - Mar 31, 2005

By LARRY CELONA, TATIANA DELIGIANNAKIS and JOE McGURK

March 31, 2005 -- A hearing-impaired Queens couple — who may not have heard their carbon-monoxide detector go off — apparently were fatally gassed inside their home last night, police said.

The victims, Blair Mazin, 50 and his wife, Anita, 49, were found in their bedclothes by the woman's brother inside their townhouse on Oak Park Drive in Douglaston at 8 p.m.

Blair's body was in his bedroom, and Anita's in a bathroom.

They were both pronounced dead at the scene.

A car in their garage had an empty gas tank and the ignition key was in the "on" position.

Authorities believe the car had been left running and carbon-monoxide poisoning was the cause of death.

When paramedics first arrived, they were unable to detect any fumes, leading authorities to believe the two may have been dead for a while, perhaps since Tuesday.

There were no signs of trauma on either body.

Authorities believe that because of their hearing problem, the victims might not have heard the car running or the alarm sounding on a carbon-monoxide detector.

Cops said their initial investigation leads them to believe the deaths were accidental — no note was found, and friends and relatives said the couple did not seem to have any problems.

Their three-story town house is located in a gated community called Oak Park at Douglaston.

A member of the community's co-op board said the detectors had been installed in all homes there.

A law went into effect in November requiring all city residents to install carbon-monoxide alarms.

The deaths stunned residents of the well-to-do community near Alley Pond Park.

"I can't believe it," said one resident. It's very quiet here." Another neighbor said the victims, who had lived there three years, looked like "a very happy couple."

Additional reporting by Brigitte Williams

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