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Family: Couple found dead inside car in New Orleans garage

Officers responded to the 7400 block of Briarheath Drive after a resident said they heard a car running inside a garage for about 45 minutes.

Two people are dead after they were found inside a running car in a New Orleans East garage early Thursday morning, family members say.

According to preliminary reports from the New Orleans Police Department, officers responded to the 7400 block of Briarheath Drive after a resident said they heard a car running inside a garage for about 45 minutes.

The preliminary report adds that officers responding to the scene found smoke in the garage and an unresponsive man in the front seat of a car. When firefighters entered the garage, they found an unresponsive woman lying across the rear seat. Paramedics pronounced both dead at the scene.

Brittany Lavigne and Latrell Johnson told WWL-TV that they got a call from NOPD around midnight saying that their brother, Michael Willis Jr., was found dead inside the car. The sisters believe the unidentified woman was Willis' girlfriend, however, police have not released the victims' name to the public.

Police say the incident remains under investigation.

WWL-TV reporter Duke Carter contributed to this report.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story reported that the New Orleans Police Department release the identities of the deceased. This story has been updated to reflect that the information was released by family members.

A previous version of this story reported that victim's name to be Marcus Willis, Jr. This story has been updated to reflect that the victim's name is Michael Willis, Jr.

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