Preliminary results from an autopsy performed on a Warsaw fire victim show that she died from smoke inhalation.
Joan Bernstein, 52, of Warsaw, died in a fire at the East View Apartment Complex at 653 Walter Way, Warsaw, Tuesday morning. After she was positively identified using dental records, an autopsy was performed at the Forensic Center at St. Joseph Hospital, Fort Wayne, Wednesday.
According to pathologists at the forensic center, Bernstein's cause of death was "attributed to asphyxia associated with smoke inhalation." More toxicology tests are being performed over the next few weeks.
The fire, which started around 3:24 a.m. Tuesday, is believed to have started in the area of a parked mo-ped that was in the breezeway area in the apartment building. The fire then spread up the vinyl siding and into the structure itself.
The mo-ped was parked below Bernstein's apartment in the complex.
The fire remains under investigation by the Warsaw police and fire investigators and Kosciusko County Coroner John Sadler.
