Over the summers of 2016 through 2018, more than 100 people in Maricopa County, Arizona, were killed by extreme indoor heat.

A 63-year-old man was found dead in his home in the summer of 2017. His air conditioning had broken the day before, and it was about 100 degrees inside.

There were 65 other people whose air conditioning was broken when investigators arrived, according to county records.

In 2017, a 53-year-old man was found dead in a motor home with no electricity or running water. The temperature inside was over 100 degrees.

Ten others who died were found inside with no air conditioners.

A 79-year-old woman who was found dead in June 2016 had early dementia. She would sometimes turn off her air conditioning and forget to turn it back on. When investigators arrived, it was over 100 degrees in her residence.

Fourteen others who died had working air conditioning that wasn't turned on when investigators arrived. In some cases, people may have been trying to save money.

A 71-year-old woman was found dead in July 2018. According to the autopsy, she always used air conditioning, but sometimes forgot to pay her bills. There was no electricity to her home when she was found, but that was more than a month after she was last known to be alive and investigators don’t know if her electricity went out before her death.

It’s unclear if indoor air-conditioning was working in connection with 14 other deaths during this period.

"If I'm an older person on a fixed income and I have to make choices between medicine, rent and electricity, something's going to give and either way, I'm going to pay the price." - Wendy Johnson, Executive Director of Justa Center, Phoenix, AZ