Second teen identified in Chandler garage death investigation

The second teenager that was found dead next to his friend in a Chandler garage Early Tuesday morning, 17-year-old Marcus Lee was identified, his family confirmed Thursday.

He was with 18-year-old Romeo Elias Alvarez in the garage of the apartment complex where Marcus’ family lives, near Arizona Avenue and Ray Road. The families of the two teenagers reported them missing after not being heard from since Sunday evening.

Their bodies were found after the families traced the teens’ phones and looked at their recent text messages.

The preliminary investigation suggested their deaths were accidental.

Family and friends of the two teenagers believe they died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The missing teenagers

Just days before Marcus and Alvarez’s bodies were found, they had each spent time with their families.

According to Merle Lee, Marcus’ father, the teen had dinner with the family that Sunday after church. The next morning at about 1 a.m., Marcus, a Chandler High School student, left the house and told his brother he was going to the gym.

“He went out, and I think he met his friend there,” Merle said. “For some reason they decided to park in the garage, I guess, because it was cold and you can’t really park anywhere else.”

Similarly, Alvarez, a freshman at Arizona State University studying pre-med, left a family party that Sunday evening, according to family friend Andrea Varelas.

Alvarez’s mother, Selena Preciado, reported her son missing.

Since Monday was Veterans Day, Merle woke up with plans to volunteer at church. He noticed that Marcus was not at home and that his car keys were also missing.

Merle assumed that Marcus was also taking advantage of the holiday by running around that morning, so he left for the church with his wife’s keys.

But throughout the day, Merle and Venishaah began to worry when their son didn’t call or text back. When Merle got home, they filed a missing person’s report.

Around 7 p.m. Monday, Merle said, police called asking if they knew Alvarez since he was also reported missing in the area. However, they did not know who the other teen was.

About an hour later, members of the Alvarez family saw one of Merle’s other sons skateboarding through their apartment complex, stopping him from asking about Alvarez.

“They said the last place (Alvarez) pinged was there,” Merle said, referring to the location data from Alvarez’s cell phone. “We came down and put two and two together.”

The families later learned through their teens’ text messages that the two decided to park in the detached garage the Lees usually used for storage, Merle explained.

Merle tried to open the garage, but couldn’t. The garage door opener was in Marcus’s possession. The families called in police around 3 a.m. to help open the garage

Firefighters were called to help and were able to cut a hole in the garage door to look inside with flashlights, Merle recalled.

But when a firefighter went inside, he quickly came back out: “Because it was so heavy in there with carbon monoxide, he had to put on a mask,” Merle said.

Firefighters quickly aired out the garage and went back inside, confirming the bodies of the two teens were inside the vehicle.

“They had been there for probably – I would say from 3 a.m. to 3 a.m. – almost 24 hours,” Merle said.

The Lee family cannot make funeral arrangements yet as Marcus’ body is still with the medical examiner.

‘It’s just hard. Our son is meant to bury us, not the other way around,” Merle said.

Family and friends mourn beloved teens

As the investigation into their deaths continues, family and friends grapple with the loss of two young individuals who embraced adulthood.

“(Marcus) was a smart kid,” Merle from Marcus. “He was outspoken, he was loud, he was very brazen. Sometimes he didn’t shy away from certain things, he stood by many things.”

Marcus was a senior at Chandler High and the middle child of seven siblings. He was also an artist who loved anime.

According to Merle, Marcus aspired to become a welder, following in the footsteps of his father and mother, Venishaah, who were both pipe fitters.

“He was ready to conquer the world,” Merle said.

Marcus was also heavily involved with the church his family attends, Potter’s House in Mesa.

“He was well known there by all the young people, just by everyone,” Merle said. “In fact, everyone knew him from the age of four, when we entered the church. He had a relationship with everyone.”

As for Alvarez, he has been described by friends equally smart, funny, outgoing and the ‘icebreaker’ of the group.

In an emailed statement from an ASU spokesperson, the university said it “extends its deepest condolences to Romeo’s family, friends and loved ones during this difficult time.”

Alvarez graduated from Dobson High School in Mesa in May.

According to principal Gabrielle Buckley, some of Alvarez’s former teachers have asked to take some time off this week to grieve.

“It definitely affected the teachers,” Buckley said, noting that some were referenced during the speech he gave at the school’s graduation ceremony.

While giving the speech, Alverez donned a Spider-Man costume under his dress, which Buckley acknowledged she normally wouldn’t allow, but the suit fit his message of appreciating your youth, even as he and his classmates take a big step in life. maturity.

“(Alvarez was) a really wonderful dynamic student, and he was fun to be around, and he wanted to make people laugh,” she said.

Shawn Raymundo covers the West Valley cities of Glendale, Peoria and Surprise. Reach him out [email protected] or follow him on X @ShawnzyTsunami.