A fourth person was hospitalized in critical condition as authorities worked to determine what caused the unexplained deaths.
DALLAS, Texas — Three people were found dead and a fourth person was hospitalized after emergency crews discovered four people unconscious inside a South Dallas home Monday afternoon, authorities said, leaving investigators without a publicly confirmed explanation for what happened.
Dallas police responded about 1:12 p.m. Aug. 31 to the 2700 block of Burger Avenue after Dallas Fire-Rescue requested assistance. Fire-Rescue personnel determined that three of the people had died and transported the fourth person to a hospital in critical condition. Police said the investigation remained classified as an unexplained death case, and no official cause had been announced as of early Wednesday.
Dallas Fire-Rescue said its original response involved a medical call. Univision reported that firefighters received the call shortly after 12:39 p.m., before police arrived at the property near Malcolm X Boulevard. Authorities have not publicly explained what prompted the initial emergency request or who first reported the four unconscious people inside the residence.
Police spokesman Corbin Rubinson said investigators were examining the manner and circumstances of the deaths. Authorities had not classified the deaths as homicides or announced evidence establishing that a crime occurred. No arrests or suspects had been announced in connection with the case, and officials had not identified a confirmed threat to people in the surrounding neighborhood.
The surviving person was reported in critical condition by NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth and People. Univision reported that the survivor was a woman, but authorities had not publicly released her name. No subsequent official update reviewed early Wednesday provided a new description of her condition or explained why she and the other three people became unconscious.
One of the people who died was identified in subsequent reports as 31-year-old Martin Rodela Jr. People and Univision attributed the identification to medical examiner information reported by WFAA. The other people who died had not been publicly identified in the reports reviewed, and officials had not released additional information about their ages or their relationships to one another.
Questions also remained about conditions inside the house. WFAA, citing a police source, reported that investigators did not find drug paraphernalia, signs of trauma or foul play, or indications of a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning. Police had not publicly identified any substance, medical condition or environmental hazard as the cause of the deaths. Those reported observations do not establish what happened, and the official causes and manners of death remained undetermined.
Neighbors told NBC 5 that they had seen what appeared to be a gathering in the area in the hours before emergency crews arrived. Univision also reported that neighbors saw numerous vehicles arriving at the house during the morning. Police have not said whether any gathering was connected to the deaths, and neighbors’ observations have not established what occurred inside the residence.
The Burger Avenue home is in a residential part of South Dallas near Malcolm X Boulevard and about a mile south of Fair Park. Emergency personnel remained focused on the residence Monday as investigators began gathering information. The circumstances drew attention because four people were found unconscious in the same location, but authorities have cautioned through the unexplained-death classification that the cause has not been determined.
The investigation remained active early Sept. 2. Dallas police had not announced a cause for the three deaths, and no official finding had explained the hospitalization of the fourth person. Additional identification information and determinations about the cause and manner of the deaths remained pending.
Author note: Last updated September 2, 2026.