PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) — Portsmouth authorities say detectors were disabled in an apartment where a couple died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority tells media outlets that the detectors' wires were disconnected and backup batteries were removed. Wire cages protecting the detectors were pried from the wall.

The authority installed the carbon monoxide and smoke detectors May 9 in the apartment of Leroy Stith and his wife, Inez, both 65, in the Swanson Homes public housing complex. On June 22, a relative found the couple's bodies.

Authority deputy executive director Kathy Warren says the investigation is focusing on the apartment's water heater.