Woman dies stuck in her lover's chimney

49-year-old Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac was reportedly involved in an 'on-again, off-again' relationship with the man, and had tried other methods of breaking into his house before her ill-fated attempt to enter via the chimney.

Kotarac first attempted to get into the house last Wednesday night using a shovel, before she climbed a ladder to the roof, removed the chimney cap and slid feet first down the flue, according to police in Bakersfield, California.

While she was attempting to gain entry, the man escaped the house through another exit in order to 'avoid a confrontation,' police said.

Police say that it appears Kotarac died after getting stuck in the chimney, but nobody realised her body was there until a house-sitter noticed an unpleasant smell and fluids coming from the fireplace on Saturday. The house-sitter and her son used a torch to examine the chimney, and found Kotarac's body wedged about two feet above the top of the interior fireplace opening.

Firefighters spent five hours late Saturday dismantling the chimney and flue from outside the home to extract Kotarac's body, DeGeare said.

'She made an unbelievable error in judgment and nobody understands why, and unfortunately she's passed away,' the owner of the house, identified as 58-year-old William Moodie, told The Associated Press.

Moodie, who runs an engineering consulting firm, said Kotarac was a superb internist who often provided service and medication free of charge to her patients.

A cause of death has not been determined, and an autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday. Foul play is not suspected, though investigators have been looking into the incident as suspicious.


/Metro.co.uk/