Young Couple Died in ‘Tragic Accident’ 15 Feet from Dorm. They Were Buried in Wedding Bands, Parents Say 

Shortly after their 20-year-old daughter marked one year with her boyfriend last year, Mary Mich and Luke Reimer were found dead in a car near her college dorm — a loss their families say has left them grieving two young lives that were already intertwined and looking ahead.

“They definitely had true love,” Mary’s mother, Christy Mich, says.

Mary and Luke were discovered in a vehicle on the campus of Franciscan University in Ohio on Jan. 19, according to police. Authorities said toxicology results confirmed the pair died from carbon monoxide poisoning, calling the deaths accidental and linked to an apparent issue with the car’s exhaust.

In a letter to the school community, Franciscan University President Father Dave Pivonka described what happened as a “tragic accident” and said it brought “profound sorrow” to the campus.

“It’s a silent killer. You don’t smell it, you don’t see it,” says Mary’s father, Chris, 54, a sales strategy producer at QVC and HSN from Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

Christy, 51, a dance teacher, says Luke — a business major who played defense on the men’s lacrosse team — was found leaning on Mary inside the car, parked about 15 feet from her dorm at Saint Agnes Hall.

“Resting his head on her is exactly what Mary would want,” she says. “She would want to comfort him.”

How Their Relationship Began

Luke first noticed Mary in the cafeteria at the Catholic university in October 2024. He was with a friend, Liam — the roommate of Mary’s twin sister’s boyfriend — when he turned and told his friend Mary was the “most beautiful girl on campus,” Christy recalls.

“Mary would say, ‘Mom, I kid you not, I was wearing a sweatshirt, jammy pants and slippers and my hair in a messy bun,’” Christy says.

Faith was central to Mary’s life, her family says. A junior studying theology and catechetics, she also loved the arts — singing, dabbling in piano and ukulele, and dancing for 15 years at the Oxford Center of Dance in Pennsylvania.

One of six children, she was especially drawn to caring for kids. Over the summer, she volunteered at an orphanage in Ecuador.

Luke, Chris says, made a point of becoming close with Mary’s family — including spending time with her brothers playing video games.

He also went out of his way to connect with Mary’s dad, waiting in line for three hours at an anime convention to get a framed photo from one of Chris’ favorite shows, Cowboy Bebop, signed by cast members.

“That will always be the best gift I’ve ever received in my entire life because it was given out of so much love and so much connection,” Chris says. “It’s so funny that he desperately wanted my approval — because he had it.”

Plans They Were Already Making

Though they were young, both families say the couple talked seriously about the future.

Luke had been thinking about starting a business that would make lacrosse supplies more affordable. Mary, Christy says, was considering how to use her studies to teach children.

She also hoped to be a wife and mother. And while Luke hadn’t officially proposed, Christy says the two were already planning a wedding.

A Funeral Treated Like a Wedding

After the deaths, both families agreed on one thing: they wanted the joint funeral to reflect the life Mary and Luke had been building together.

“Mr. Reimer said, ‘Can they wear rings?’ And we’re like, ‘Great,’” Chris recalls. “And Christy and I said, ‘Can we treat it as a wedding?’”

That’s what they did.

Mary was dressed in the red outfit she wore on Christmas Eve and laid in a white casket meant to represent a wedding dress, Chris says. Luke’s casket was black, symbolizing a tuxedo.

The flowers were the ones Mary had already chosen for her wedding, and the service included a Bible passage often read at weddings — the one about love being patient and kind.

They weren’t buried together, but both wore wedding bands that had been blessed. Chris says each also had a lock of the other’s hair placed over their hearts.

Now, Christy says she holds onto the belief that their bond didn’t end with their deaths.

“Their story and their message is so important,” she says. “And that gives me a level of peace, as my mother says, ‘a peace that surpasses understanding.’”

She adds, “We have our moments where we are a wreck, and then we have our moments where I can talk like a human being. And I’m going to see my Mary again someday. And she’s with Luke, the love of her life.”