2 found dead at Tehachapi home
UPDATE: The Kern County coroner's office on Friday, April 28, identified the people found dead in this home as 58-year-old Reed Anderson Ahonen and 51-year-old Theresa Ahonen.
The original story, published April 25, is below.
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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) -- The bodies of a man and woman were found Monday evening in Tehachapi after neighbors called authorities saying they hadn't seen the couple in about a week.
On Tuesday, next-door neighbor John Pettit said he had checked on them earlier in the day.
"My neighbor always wanted me to come around the side door, open the garage door, and poke my head in and holler," Pettit told Eyewitness News. "I walked through the house, walked down the hallway, and came back out. But, I didn't see anybody."
It was later on Monday that deputies found the bodies.
Kern County Sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt said authorities have tentatively identified the couple, but are not releasing the names yet. He said it's assumed they are husband and wife.
The sheriff’s office said there were no obvious signs of trauma with the bodies, and both people were known to suffer from medical conditions.
"It's quite possible that both of these individuals died of some type of medical condition." Pruitt said. But he added that until the cause of death is known for sure, an investigation is underway.
Deputies found the bodies after responding to a check-the-welfare call on the 19700 block of Kid Place. A woman reported she hadn't seen her neighbor in about a week, even though the neighbor's truck was parked at the home.
The Sheriff's Office said the man and woman appeared to have been dead for several days. Pruitt said the couple was found together in the home.
"They were found inside of a bedroom," he said. "Inside one of the bedrooms."
The neighbor said he had only glanced in the bedrooms when he was at the house Monday.
"I really didn't see them, cause they were on the side of the bed," Pettit said. "I didn't go in the bedrooms."
Another neighbor on the short street said she would see the husband sometimes, and last week she had spotted him outside with his walker.
She hadn't seen the wife there, and hadn't realized a woman lived in the house, too.
Pettit said it was his habit to check on the couple every few days, but he hadn't seen them in about a week. He also said the husband used a walker, and the wife was disabled, and she had only returned from a rest home "probably a couple months ago."
Pettit said the couple has relatives who live in Southern California.
When he didn't see them, or get a response at the home, Pettit said he hoped the couple had just gone someplace. He wishes there was something more he could have done to help them.
"They were a nice couple," Pettit said. "I'm sorry for the tragedy. We just -- I hate to miss the good neighbors."
Anyone with information helpful to the investigation is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at (661) 861-3110.
