Toxic gas killed Goleta couple staying at home in SLO County, sheriff says
A Goleta couple who died in Cambria last month were accidentally killed by exposure to toxic gas, an investigation revealed.
Kristen and John “Jay” Ruskey, 49 and 53, respectively, were found dead on Feb. 8 while staying at a home in the 8100 block of Lone Palm Drive.
After autopsies and toxicology testing were performed, the San Luis Obispo County coroner determined the Ruskeys died from carbon monoxide poisoning, a news release from the Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
Kristen was found to have died from the toxic effects of ethanol as well as carbon monoxide.
A carbon monoxide and smoke detector was found in the room the Ruskeys had slept in, but it was disconnected, the release said.
Their deaths were ruled as accidental.
The couple is survived by their three teenage children and their California-grown coffee legacy as co-founders of Frinj Coffee and the owners of Good Land Organics, an exotic fruit and coffee farm on Farren Road just west of Goleta.
GoFundMe to support children nearly tops out
A GoFundMe to support the Ruskey family and pay for funeral costs had raised nearly all of its $180,000 goal as of Thursday afternoon.
“The Ruskeys were caring and generous members of our community, always eager to support schools, causes and friends,” GoFundMe organizer Jose Caballero wrote. “They were also loving and fiercely engaged parents to their cherished children.”
Donations of any size were encouraged to “honor Jay and Kristen’s memory by supporting their children,” Caballero said.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 2:46 PM.
