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Goleta couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning in Cambria

March 12, 2026

John Ruskey, Kristen Ruskey and their three children

By KAREN VELIE

A couple from Goleta died last month from carbon monoxide poisoning while staying at a residence in Cambria, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office. The carbon monoxide detector located in their room had been disconnected.

Their deaths are ruled as accidental.

John Ruskey, 53, and Kristen Ruskey, 49, owned Good Land Organics, a fruit and coffee farm on Farren Road in rural Goleta. The couple had three children.

A GoFundMe was set up for the couple’s three children: 19-year-old Kasurina and 16-year-old twins Sean and Aiden. The fund has raised $177,840.

 


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This could be a murder / suicide.


-4

Wait a second… shouldn’t the story also be about the source of the Monoxide leak?…


32

This tragedy prompted me to check the 9V battery in my CO2 detector. Sure enough, it was almost dead.


10

Correction: CO detector.


4

Whoa! Disconnected? Accidental?


6

Accidental, eh? Wonder who disconnect the CO detector, and for what purpose? Thinking the discovery process will reveal a lot more than a short article can.


-1

Are you serious? I inspect homes and you’d be surprised how many people take down their smoke and CO detectors. Every week I have to remind someone that it is a CA state law. Sadly, it is more common then not. No conspiracy theory needed. May this lovely couple RIP.


23

I’m very serious. The Coroner’s report called it accidental. Someone had to make an affirmative act to disconnect the CO detector. Since you reference the CA state law, the reasoning behind the disconnect, and who did it, is vitally important when the inevitable civil suit is initiated. The disconnected CO detector is the sine qua non in this unfortunate couple’s demise. Total accord with your last sentence.


10

Some detectors are battery-operated. The battery could have simply died.


0

So very sad.


Was this an AirBNB? I understand that this is a problem with them, particularly in foreign countries. I know someone who brings his own portable carbon monoxide detector for his AirBNB stays.


8

It was mentioned in other articles that it was at a friends house, not an AirBnB. I think taking a portable CO detector is a good idea for anywhere that you stay.


5