Police are investigating the deaths of a man and a woman found unresponsive in a parked car near Sjsu on Saturday afternoon, after officers were called just after 2 p.m. to a parking garage at 350 S. 4th St. Both people were pronounced dead at the scene.
Captain Jermaine Thomas said officers arrived and began medical aid immediately after the call, which came after someone saw the pair in the vehicle earlier in the day and then again a few hours later. Thomas said the two were non-affiliates and not associated with the campus or students.
Investigators are reviewing campus surveillance video and looking into the possibility of an overdose, although the exact cause of death has not been determined. Campus police said there is no threat to the university community and no suspects are being sought. Their identities were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The deaths came on a Saturday when Sjsu said spring classes and graduation ceremonies had already wrapped up, leaving fewer students on campus. The garage where the bodies were found is open to the public 24 hours a day and requires payment to park, making it accessible to anyone entering the area.
That access is part of what has left some students uneasy. Anthony Garcia said he feels safer on campus than outside it, adding that the area can feel sketchy and that he always watches his surroundings. Rebekah Rardin said the death investigation felt intense because school email alerts usually cover lesser incidents such as graffiti, though she said she had generally felt safe commuting and would sometimes have a friend walk her back to her car after evening classes.
For now, the central question is not whether the campus itself is under threat — police say it is not — but what led two people with no connection to the university to die in a public garage beside it. Investigators have not said what they found in the video review or when they expect to determine the cause of death.
