Woman found dead in 113-degree Arizona apartment: "It was like a furnace in there"

TEMPE, Arizona -- Police found a woman dead in her Tempe, Arizona apartment -- where the temperature inside was 113 degrees. Her air conditioning stopped working on Thursday, July 28th.

Friends had not heard from 49-year-old Pricillia Games and called the police to check on her. Officers found the disabled Army veteran dead inside her unit at the Santa Fe apartments.

"When I walked into her apartment, it was like a furnace in there," friend Samantha Crea said after Games' death.

Games didn't let anyone know she'd been living in sweltering heat.

"She was always there for someone else, but hated to ask for help herself," Crea said.

"It's ridiculous. Living in 113 degrees? It's absurd," neighbor Lane Carraway said.

Carraway and others in the community have been filing complaints about the complex, at the corner of Scottsdale Road and Weber Drive, for many years.

"I was just appalled and disgusted," Paul Dunham added.

They witnessed the air conditioning unit blow.

"We saw smoke billowing out. All the maintenance guys were screaming," he said.

An air conditioning repair crew was still on scene on the night of July 28th -- and not happy to see a news crew.

"We're almost done, but every distraction like the one you're giving us is delaying us further," one of them told reporter Jared Dillingham.

Around 10:00 p.m. on July 28th, they said the work was finished and the air conditioning unit was working again.

Games was on medication for different illnesses, but her friends believe the heat killed her.

"I'm really angry at the apartment complex owners. As tenants, we have the right to air conditioning," Crea said.

An autopsy will determine the exact cause of death.

Arizona law requires landlords to maintain air conditioning, which is deemed essential. It's up to tenants to file written complaints or notices if the air conditioning goes out. The landlord has 10 days from the written notice to get the air conditioning fixed.

In cases where someone's health is in jeopardy, the landlords have five days.

Air conditioners must cool apartments to 82 degrees. Evaporative coolers must keep the apartment down to at least 86 degrees.

Games' friends have setup a GoFundMe page to raise money for her funeral expenses.