Wednesday
September 18, 2024 
After almost three months, officials have released the cause of death of two men who were found dead in their New Hope apartment on Nov. 6, 2022.
Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck said Monday, Israel Alavez Tapia, 38, and Gualberto Nabor Aguilar Garcia, 42, died of fentanyl toxicity.
“There was a level of carbon monoxide in the house, but that was not the cause of death,” Buck said.
She earlier said, it was “not unusual” for toxicology tests to take up to 12 weeks. “I don’t like to keep families waiting either,” Buck added.
The men, found in the bedroom of the home at 78 Tow Path, commonly known as Ney Alley, were from San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca, Mexico, but had lived and worked in various restaurants in the New Hope area for more than a decade.
At the time the men were found, New Hope Borough Police Chief Michael Cummings said “elevated levels” of carbon monoxide were found in the apartment, noting, “But, it could be something else.”
Police officers went to the home about 4:30 p.m., after the bodies were seen by a third party, who then informed authorities, Cummings said. Officers entered the unlocked apartment where they saw the men, who appeared to have died at the same time. There were no signs of trauma, the police chief said, in November.
Wendy Kelly, a former colleague and friend of the men, started a GoFundMe page following the deaths.
“They are both known for working long days, weekends, nights and holidays, keeping our area restaurants open, clean and operating. Honest, hardworking, funny and God-fearing men. They strived to take care of their families back home in poverty-stricken Mexico. They will not be forgotten as they have cultivated so many friendships here in the USA.”
She hoped to raise enough money to send the men’s bodies back to their families in Mexico.
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