Twin Brothers Pass Away During Power Outage; Backup Ventilators Failed to Operate

Having had been living with muscular dystrophy since the time of their birth, 22­-year-­old twin brothers Ryan and Joshua Hall had been dependent on the ventilators since the young age of two years old.

During a power outage on Nov. 12 in Calaveras County, just a bit east of Sacramento, Ryan and Joshua passed away in their Valley Springs home due to the failure of their backup ventilation systems.

The twins’ mother, Julia Hall, told authorities that preceding the power outage she figured her sons were simply asleep, before retreating back to check on them a half­hour later only to realize that they were not breathing.

After Hall dialed 911, paramedics arrived at the scene, however, their CPR attempt was unable to revive the twins.

While the Calaveras Coroner’s Office believe that the twins may have passed away from asphyxiation, authorities have indeed taken into consideration that the deaths may have been a homicide.

Though Calaveras County Sheriff Gary Kuntz admitted that the mother has been very cooperative, nothing is being ruled out.