Doctor Dies in Chimney Trying to Break Into House

A California doctor died after trying to enter her "on-again, off-again" boyfriend's home through the chimney and getting stuck, police say. Jacquelyn Kotarac was found dead 3 days later after a woman house-sitting noticed an odd odor coming from the fireplace, the Los Angeles Times reports. Authorities, who have deemed the death an accident, say she died from asphyxiation.

Kotarac had already tried to break in through the back door, and her boyfriend, seeking to avoid confrontation, had left the house by the time she tried to slide down the chimney, according to cops. "She made an unbelievable error in judgment and nobody understands why, and unfortunately she's passed away," he tells AP. "She had her issues—she had her demons—but I never lost my respect for her." (More Jacquelyn Kotarac stories.)