Senior’s icy death is deemed not a crime

No criminal charges will be filed in the death of a 93-year-old man who froze inside his home after an electric utility installed a power-limiting device because of unpaid bills, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Bay County Prosecutor Kurt Asbury, citing the results of a Michigan State Police investigation and a final autopsy report, called Marvin Schur’s death a “terrible tragedy” but not a crime.

Neighbors discovered Schur’s body Jan. 17 in his house in Bay City, about 90 miles northwest of Detroit. The windows were frosted over, icicles hung from a faucet, and Schur lay dead on the bedroom floor, wearing a winter jacket over four layers of clothing.

An autopsy showed that Schur, a World War II veteran who lived alone, died of hypothermia, with heart disease as a contributing factor. Alzheimer’s disease also was noted in the findings.

Workers with Bay City Electric Light & Power, a city-owned utility, had installed a device that restricts power on Schur’s electric meter less than a week earlier.

The “limiter” blows like a fuse if usage rises past a set level. Electricity is not restored until the device is flipped back on by the homeowner, who must walk outside to the meter.

Asbury said it appeared the device had tripped and cut off power to the home, parts of which were being heated by electric space heaters, the oven, a heating pad and a lantern. He said Schur’s furnace apparently had not worked since October.

Asbury cited inconsistencies about the policies and practices of the Bay City utility regarding the installation of limiter devices but found no evidence of gross negligence.

The utility had no comment on the prosecutor’s decision.

Michigan’s state-regulated utilities are not allowed to shut off power to senior citizens in the winter, but the state’s 41 smaller municipal utilities, including Bay City, are not overseen by the state.

Schur’s death led the state House to pass a plan banning the use of limiters for elderly customers. The plan is under consideration in the Senate.