The sad news that a young couple found dead in their Berkeley, California home has been widely and falsely attributed to 3D printing.
3D Printing Industry have called the Berkeley Police Department for further information and will bring you the facts as we have them.
What we do know is that sensationalist headlines trump reality, especially when 3D printing is involved: and even from “news” websites who should know better.
Media misreport news
Cheyenne Roundtree writing for the British tabloid “The Daily Mail” claimed, “Roger Morash, 35, and Valerie Morash, 32, died from poisoning due to the couple’s laser 3D printer, which was emitting carbon monoxide into their residence on Monday.”
Speaking to the Berkeleyside local news a friend of the couple Allen Rabinovich said, “This is all pure speculation. The device named in the KPIX CBS article (‘laser 3D printer’) doesn’t even exist.”
According to early reports, “Carbon monoxide poisoning was also ruled out.”
“Refrain from speculation”
At the center of all this is the fact that two people are dead, and with backgrounds in engineering and an interest in 3D printing these are two people most likely very much like people we all know.
A posting on Facebook earlier today sums up the situation,
Hi folks. Val and Roger were dear friends, and I am on the ground here, and I’d like to respectfully ask that you refrain from speculation.
The press is rushing to print sensational items, and they don’t know the actual facts.
I’ve been talking to the police directly, and nothing is conclusive yet. Nothing has actually been ruled out, nor determined to be the cause.
They don’t even have full toxicology reports yet, those take days and sometimes weeks.
On a personal note, I can tell you that there were two devices in the house, a small 3D printer, and a small laser cutter, that were used for building models and rigs for scientific research. Val was an immaculate engineer, and conformed to all safety rules in operating these machines. To the best of our knowledge, neither of the machines were operating the night they passed away.
Again, please refrain from fear-mongering and speculation. I know it’s natural for engineers to attack unsolved problems, but you are not working with correct or full data. Once more data is available, we will write up a complete and truthful statement to try and provide closure on this issue.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up by the families of the deceased and a memorial page established where an announcement will be made about where donations should be sent.
Featured image shows Val Morash and Roger Hanna Morash. Photo via Facebook.
