Three American women who were discovered dead in a Belize resort hotel room last month died from carbon monoxide poisoning, their families said. A joint statement this week from their families cites the U.S. Embassy in Belize and says the women died from "acute carbon monoxide poisoning, likely caused by a faulty instant water heater."

The Belize National Forensics Science Service executive director, Gian Cho, said Thursday that carbon monoxide poisoning killed three American women found dead while at a vacation resort there in February.