– An oilfield company and a company executive have been indicted in the 2019 poisonous gas deaths of a worker and his wife.
The federal grand jury in Midland charged Odessa-based Aghorn Operating Inc. and Aghorn Vice President Trent Day with violating federal clean air laws and obstructing a federal job safety investigation, according to a Justice Department statement Tuesday. They and an Aghorn affiliate also were charged with federal safe water laws and making false statements on forms documenting the mechanical integrity of Aghorn’s injection wells.Jacob and Natalee Dean died Oct. 26, 2019According to the Ector County Sheriff's Office, Aghorn officials dispatched Jacob Dean to check on the facility. When he didn’t return as expected, his wife tried to reach him by phone but got no answer.She drove with their two children, ages 6 and 9, to the pump house.
A receptionist at Aghorn said the company would have no comment. A law firm that has represented Aghorn in the past did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.