US teacher hangs herself in classroom, students find body

Los Angeles: In a tragic incident, a teacher in the US hanged herself in a classroom, leaving students to make the disturbing discovery when they arrived for their first period.

Emergency responders arrived shortly after the early morning discovery yesterday at El Dorado High School in Placentia, California, and found the teacher in full cardiac arrest, school officials said.

Students initially tried to go inside but found the door was locked "and that's not normal for that hour of the day," Placentia police Lt Eric Point said.

The students then went to an adjacent classroom and found another teacher, who unlocked the door, and then found Jacobson hanging from the ceiling inside.

The teacher removed Jacobson and set her body on the floor, which is where she was when emergency officials arrived.

"When police and fire arrived, the teacher was in cardiac arrest. After several minutes, she was declared deceased at the scene," Point was quoted by the Orange County Register as saying.

Jacobson possibly died before paramedics arrived, but every effort was made to try to revive her, Point said.

Investigators suspect Jacobson hanged herself in the classroom, however, a suicide note was not found, Point said.

This is not the first time death has plagued the El Dorado High School campus. Just last year, a student died after being struck by a van, and another teacher died on campus in 2009.

Several students on campus said Jacobson's father committed suicide and that she constantly advised her students against taking their own life.

Grief counselors were made available for students and teachers, according to Candy Plahy, the assistant superintendent of educational services at Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.

"Often, having students return to their normal daily routines is the best way to help them cope," she said. "Going back to school will help restore normalcy."

Plahy said the "handful" of students who found Jacobson were immediately taken to crisis counselors.