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Three men found dead in Gulfport home likely overdosed, police say

Gulfport police say they found a substance that tested positive for cocaine. But they also suspect the deadly drug fentanyl.
 
Three men were found dead inside this home on the 2800 block of 49th Street S in Gulfport on Sunday. The Gulfport Police Department believes the men overdosed on the same drug, but the causes of death have not yet been determined.
Three men were found dead inside this home on the 2800 block of 49th Street S in Gulfport on Sunday. The Gulfport Police Department believes the men overdosed on the same drug, but the causes of death have not yet been determined. [ TONY MARRERO | Times ]
Published Nov. 24, 2020|Updated Nov. 24, 2020

GULFPORT — It was a neighbor who first alerted police that something was wrong inside the little green house on 49th Street S.

The men who lived in the home on the 2800 block had been hanging out and listening to music on Sunday night, neighbors told Gulfport police.

Then on Monday morning, a neighbor walking her dog noticed something odd: One of the men, visible through a window, was sitting at the kitchen table in the same position he was in when she passed by the previous night, according to police. She called police and responding officers found three men dead inside the home.

There were no signs of trauma or forced entry, and the doors were closed and locked. Detectives now suspect all three men overdosed on the same drug.

Police identified them as cousins Jeffrey S. Miller, 51, and Scott A. Miller, 46, who both lived at the home; and their friend, 39-year-old Bailey J. Frohbose of Dunedin.

“There is no foul play suspected and this will be investigated as a likely overdose of three people,” Gulfport police Sgt. Thomas Woodman said in an email to the Tampa Bay Times. “Based on the scene, it appears that all three were consuming the same product.”

A substance that tested positive for cocaine was found in the house along with marijuana, Woodman said. But investigators have not ruled out fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, as a factor in their deaths.

“Fentanyl is the primary cause of overdoses and mixed with a variety of illegal substances, however we will only be able to definitively know what they consumed by the toxicology report,” he said.

The Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the causes of death but must wait for the results of toxicology tests, the sergeant said.

No one answered the door of the home when a Times reporter visited on Monday. A pair of sandals lay on the stoop. Property records show the house is owned by a St. Petersburg woman who lists another address.

Sherwin Cooper, 79, who lives across the street, said he occasionally had the Miller cousins over to drink beer and watch the Bucs play. He said Jeff Miller used to buy him cigarettes at the store and beer.

“They were decent guys,” Cooper said.

Cooper learned from a Times reporter what police suspect happened to the cousins and described his reaction in one word.

“Shock,” he said.

Police ask anyone with information about this case to contact Gulfport police Detective Jennifer Crowson at 727-893-1043. They can also submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers Pinellas County by calling 800-873-8477, by using crimestoppersofpinellas.org or via the P3 Tips mobile app.