PERTH AMBOY — The family of the 13-year-old girl killed by carbon monoxide poisoning is collecting donations to return her body to the Dominican Republic.

Marbely Bruno was one of 35 people, including 27 police officers, exposed to carbon monoxide in the home on Fayette Street in the late afternoon.  A man in his 40s, a 21-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl were also hospitalized.

A GoFundMe page written in Spanish was set up to help Bruno's family raise $5,000. No funeral arrangements were included on the page.

The building's owner, Michael Watts, told News 12 New Jersey that the girl was visiting the United States for the holidays.

Watts told city investigators from that the carbon monoxide and smoke detectors were "fully functional" at the time. Investigators, however, said they were not operational. Watts told News 12 that residents sometimes took the batteries out while cooking.

An investigation conducted by the police and fire departments, the Middlesex Prosecutor’s Office and Middlesex County Fire Marshal’s Office determined that a clay liner within the building's chimney had collapsed, blocking the exhaust of carbon monoxide.

The gas is produced by fuel-burning appliances and engines and is tasteless and odorless.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ 

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