New Jersey Family Pool Drowning: Police Investigate Accident That Killed 3 People, Neighbor Heard Screams

Police in New Jersey have identified the three family members who were found dead Monday after drowning an above-ground pool. The deaths of Nisha Patel, 33, and her father-in-law Bharat Patel, 62, as well as Nisha Patel's 8-year-old daughter, were confirmed as an accident by the Middlesex County medical examiner.

“This is a devastating day for our entire community,” East Brunswick Police Chief Frank LoSacco said in a statement. “It is too early to determine exactly what happened. We are working with the Middlesex County Prosecutors office and will release information as it develops.”

The Patel family had moved into the home only 20 days before the incident. Police found the family members unresponsive in the pool after receiving a call from a neighbor at around 4:20 p.m. They have pronounced dead shortly afterward.

According to police, the caller reported hearing screams from Patel’s property. It was later confirmed that the screams were Nisha Patel yelling for help.

“I went out on my back deck and I saw the EMS guy jump in the water, and I saw the woman get pulled out, and they started working on them,” an unnamed next-door neighbor told NJ Advance Media.

Police reportedly called an electrical contractor to the scene, leading some outlets to speculate that an electrical issue might have led to the incident. Authorities have not confirmed whether the deaths were related to an electrical issue.

“The fact that they had an electrician’s truck show up shortly thereafter — I mean, it wouldn’t make sense that three people just drowned right away like that, with an adult there, too,” neighbor Phil Peterson told CBS New York.

Other neighbors have commented on the unusual nature of the deaths as police begin their investigation.

“[The pool is] above ground,” one neighbor explained. “It’s not in-ground, so I don’t know how this happened.”

The New York Post reported that the former owner of the home never had problems with the pool.

At least one other person lived at the home. Their name and relation to the family has not been released.