Veteran, Who Traveled for Granddaughter’s College Graduation, Allegedly ‘Boiled Alive’ in Hotel Shower: Lawsuit

NEED TO KNOW

• A Marine Corps veteran was allegedly “boiled alive” in a hotel bathtub, per a wrongful death suit

• Terril Johnson was staying in San Jose for his granddaughter’s college graduation when the alleged incident occurred

• His family is now seeking a trial by jury for what they called a “horrific and entirely preventable tragedy”

A grandfather died after he was allegedly “boiled alive” in a hotel bathtub, a lawsuit states.

Terril Johnson, 77, was staying at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites at the San Jose Airport on May 22, when his family said they found him “unresponsive” and “partially submerged in water so dangerously hot that they could not touch him without burning themselves,” according to a wrongful death suit they filed in the Superior Court of California on Oct. 15.

Johnson, a Marine Corps veteran, was at the hotel ahead of attending his granddaughter’s graduation from San Jose State University the following day, per the suit.

His family said they “struggled desperately to save” him in the bathtub and watched “in horror as his skin peeled away from his body.”

First responders pronounced Johnson dead at the scene, according to the lawsuit.

The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner ruled that the cause of death was “severe scalding burns of neck, torso and extremities complicating hypertension.”

They stated that Johnson had burns on approximately 33.5% of his body, including his neck and torso, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit from Johnson’s family claims that the hotel violated a state plumbing code that requires showers to be equipped with a valve to limit maximum water temperature.

Johnson’s loved ones called the incident a “horrific and entirely preventable tragedy.” The family is now seeking unspecified damages in a trial by jury.

Per the suit, Johnson, a husband and father of two, was from Fort Wayne, Ind., where he graduated “at the top of his class” in high school. After serving in the Vietnam War, he attended Indiana Tech and Ivy Tech, where he also later taught.

“Terril was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, remembered for his faith, work ethic, mentorship, and commitment to family and community,” the suit said of Johnson, adding that he was “in good spirits and enjoying retirement” at the time of his death.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, a son and four grandchildren.

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PEOPLE reached out to Marriott but did not receive an immediate response.

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