The four people found dead from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at their New Hampshire lake house on Christmas Day have been identified as a 52-year-old Massachusetts eighth grade teacher, his wife and their two adult daughters.
“We are deeply heartbroken to learn of the passing of Mr. Matt Goldstein, an exceptional educator and a beloved member of our PSB and Baker School Community,” Brookline Public Schools Superintendent Linus Guillory said in a statement released Friday.
The other victims were identified Friday as Goldstein’s wife, Lyla, 54, and their daughters Valerie, 22, and Violet, 19, all of Newton, Mass.
The Goldsteins were said to have been spending the holiday season at their vacation home in Wakefield. But when none of them showed up to a holiday event as expected, other family members became concerned and called emergency services for a welfare check.
Upon arriving at the lake house, Wakefield firefighters discovered the bodies of the four victims and detected high levels of carbon monoxide in the home. There were no working CO detectors present at the time, New Hampshire State Fire Marshal Sean Toomey said Friday.
An autopsy has since confirmed Matthew Goldstein’s cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning, while the results for his wife and daughters are still pending. An investigation into the deaths is ongoing, though Toomey said the tragedy appeared to be accidental and may have involved the home’s heating system.
The fire marshal emphasized the importance of having carbon monoxide detectors in every home. He warned that symptoms of CO poisoning include headaches, nausea and fatigue, which are sometimes mistaken for the flu around the holiday season.
In New Hampshire, 10 people have died due to carbon monoxide poisoning in 2024, according to Toomey. In most years, the number of New Hampshirites killed by the odorless gas is around two to three.