LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The family of a 17-year-old Louisville boy who was found dead in a car inside of their garage this week said he left their house Tuesday night to find somewhere cooler to sleep.
Christian Ruhekenya, 17, was found dead in a car Wednesday morning in Louisville's Beechmont neighborhood. Louisville Metro Police said officers were sent to the 4500 block of South 1st Street, near East Southern Heights Avenue, on a report of a person down inside a vehicle.
When they arrived, they found Ruhkenya's body. He lived there with his family.
"He couldn't stand how to sleep in the house because it was so hot," Jospin Malabi, Ruhkenya's father, said in Swahili through a translator. "There was no A/C unit in the house."
Jospin Malabi, right, Christian Ruhkenya's father, said his son couldn't sleep in their house because it was too hot. Aug. 25, 2023. (WDRB Photo)
The seven-person family moved to Louisville last year from Burundi in east Africa. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office said Ruhekenya's cause of death is pending autopsy results, but Malabi, who only speaks Swahili, said his son's death could have been prevented.
Malabi said the air conditioning in their house hasn't worked for the last two months. During an interview Friday, though, they said it now works.
"The reason behind it is this landlord issue," Malabi said. "It's too late. Because they had to wait until somebody died to come fix it."
For two months, Malabi said he told their landlord, Kim, they needed someone to fix their A/C. Public records show the home listed to "First Confederate Colonial."
"The landlord knew the issue ... " Malabi said. "... [My son] ran away from the house to get air from somewhere else ... and he just completely passed away."
Text messages appeared to show exchanges between Malabi and Kim about the home's A/C.
Text messages appear to show exchanges between Malabi and Kim about the home's A/C. In July, Malabi sent a text saying: "(The family is) going to be sick because of the heat, can you please do something?"
Kim responded, saying "I still have not received the rent."
The two communicated a few times days later, where Malabi said: "Come get your rent." They most recently messaged Wednesday night, hours after police said Ruhekenya died.
"Why I am paying you rent every month that I have a house that my kids can't even sleep?" he said in an interview Friday. "They can't sleep in the house."
Kim, who declined to disclose her last name, released a statement Friday:
"We are so saddened to hear of this tragedy," she said. "We have reviewed all of our communication with the resident and at no time had they notified us of a problem with the air conditioning. When we were finally notified us on Wednesday afternoon, we had our folks come out the same day and fix the problem."
Text messages that WDRB saw refute that claim. Kim didn't respond to further questions clarifying the timeline.
Officials have not said how Ruhekenya died. The coroner's office also hasn't provided an official time of death.
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