Police: Death of Farms man, 81
was probably heat-related

Grosse Pointe Farms police are calling the death of 81-year-old Robert C. Gall Jr. heat-related, although what, specifically, killed him will likely never be known.

But the discovery of Gall's body by his wife Wednesday morning in a McKinley Road house closed tight in a suffocating heat wave has led police to suspect that extreme temperatures very likely triggered his death, said Lt. Rich Rosati of the Farms police department.

The house was completely shut and had no air-conditioning, said Rosati. Gall's wife called 911 after finding him lying on the floor shortly after 9 a.m. yesterday. The condition of the body suggested he had been there for some time. Gall had a heart condition. The inside of the house was "at least 100 degrees," Rosati estimated. 

The couple's children live out of state and were en route to Grosse Pointe, he said. No autopsy will be performed. Police contacted Services for Older Citizens to see about getting a fan for the house. 

UPDATE: Robert Gall's obituary.

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