Coroner: Teacher found in house fire died of overdose

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Friday, Sept. 18, 2009 | 11:46 a.m.

A Las Vegas school teacher whose body was found after a fire ignited her northwest Las Vegas Valley house in August died of an accidental overdose of hydrocodone, the Clark County Coroner's Office said today.

The coroner's office released the results of toxicology tests done on Michelle Perch. She had been a teacher with the Clark County School District and taught at Jo Mackey Elementary School for 16 years.

Las Vegas Fire Department firefighters fought a blaze in a smoke-filled, second-story bedroom at 7:11 p.m. Aug. 25. The house was in the 7200 block of Grand Palace Avenue near Ann Road and U.S. 95.

Firefighters forced their way into the house through the front door and went upstairs as the smoke thickened. They found a closed bedroom door and determined the fire was in the bedroom, officials said.

The room was filled with thick, black smoke, the fire department said. As they fought to put out the blaze, firefighters found Perch's body on a bed. Paramedics pronounced the woman dead at the scene.