When firefighters arrived at the Lamplighter Inn in Eureka, California on February 26, they found another unconscious woman in the same motel room where someone had already died — just five days earlier. By the time they checked the air inside, they understood why. The room was filled with carbon monoxide. There wasn’t a single detector in sight.
The city shut the hotel down immediately. But for 37-year-old Samantha Hanna, it was already too late.
The first death had occurred on February 21, when officers responded to reports of two unconscious people at the Lamplighter, a small motel in Eureka — a port city about 100 miles south of the Oregon border. One woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The other was rushed to the hospital. Authorities suspected a drug overdose and moved on.
The motel stayed open.
Five days later, the exact same scenario unfolded in the exact same room. Two more people found unconscious. One — Samantha Hanna — did not survive. This time, Humboldt Bay firefighters responding to the scene began showing symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure themselves. When they tested the air, the readings came back alarming.
“Even responding fire personnel experienced symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure upon entering the room.” — Lawsuit complaint
Now, Samantha’s father Samuel Hanna has filed a lawsuit against motel owners Harjinder K. Heer and Surinder S. Heer. The complaint is blunt: the owners knew the room was dangerous, and they put guests back inside it anyway.
The lawsuit points to a July 2025 fire inspection that cited the Lamplighter for safety violations — nearly eight months before Samantha died. According to her father’s attorneys, that inspection put the owners on notice. They chose to do nothing.
“Had Defendants closed the motel and taken the premises out of service after the February 21 incident, as basic safety required, Decedent’s death on February 26 would never have happened,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit describes the owners’ conduct as “despicable” and says it was carried out with “a conscious disregard for the rights and safety of motel guests.” Samuel Hanna is seeking wrongful death damages, including punitive damages, with no set dollar amount specified.
⚖️ What Happens Next
Attorney Jon Davidi says the legal team will spend the coming months in discovery — gathering evidence, building the case — before pushing for a jury trial as soon as a court date becomes available. The Eureka Police Department said Friday it had no new updates on the criminal investigation.
For Samuel Hanna, no courtroom victory will bring his daughter back. “She was my best friend — just an amazing young woman,” he said. “It’s not something a monetary value is going to fix. It demands justice.”
Two women are dead. The room that killed them had no carbon monoxide detector — and the people responsible had been warned months in advance. A jury will now decide what that silence cost.
