Coroner: California doctor suffocated in chimney

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — A coroner says a Central California doctor whose decomposing body was found in the chimney of her boyfriend’s house died of asphyxiation.

Kern County Sheriff-Coroner spokesman Ray Pruitt determined Tuesday that Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac was unable to breathe in the narrow chimney where she was lodged after apparently trying to get into the Bakersfield home on Aug 25.

Her preliminary cause of death is listed as mechanical asphyxiation, meaning her chest could not expand in the small space.

Police believe the 49-year-old internist wanted to confront a man with whom she had an “on-again, off-again” relationship. The body was discovered Saturday.

The owner of the house would not comment on the circumstances that led to the death.