A retired music teacher found dead after a fire in her home Monday apparently died of asphyxiation caused by smoke inhalation.
The body of Jean Sweeney was found after a fire at her home on Billings Drive in Superior. The preliminary cause of death was reached following an autopsy Tuesday at Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Ramsey, Minn.
Firefighters were called to Sweeney's shortly after 11 a.m. Monday. Flames were already visible when firefighters arrived on the scene. Flames and heat turned back firefighters trying to search the house and make interior fire attacks. Searchers later found Sweeney's body at the bottom of several steps leading up to the split-entry house's entryway.
Fire officials have not yet released any conclusions about the possible cause of the blaze.
