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TRENTON — The Butler County Coroner said Tuesday a 27-year-old Trenton mother died from a respiratory infection and not a skin infection caused by a tattoo as police had speculated Monday.

Jennifer Ryan, of the 100 block of North Second Street, was found dead in her home Sunday by her two children. Trenton police officials said they had received information from investigators that Ryan's death may have been caused by an infection linked to a fresh tattoo on her body.

But Coroner Dr. Richard Burkhardt said Tuesday those reports were false.

"She has a fresh tattoo but that's completely coincidental," Burkhardt said.

The coroner said Ryan actually died of a respiratory condition called meningococcal infection.

"We've had cases like this before where (someone) comes home and dies within 24 hours," Burkhardt said. "It's not a skin infection like (staphylococcus), that's another bacteria.

"It's probably just coincidental that she has this tattoo ... There's no evidence that the tattoo is infected," he said. "We think it's (meningococcal infection) because she had typical signs of that."

According to the police report, Ryan told her boyfriend on Saturday that she felt hot, was shivering and claimed she did not feel well. Burkhardt said meningococcal infection is sometimes mistaken for strep throat, however, the patient is generally much sicker.

Ryan's children were at home when they noticed "their mother was not getting up as they were trying to wake her," according to the police report. The children then alerted a neighbor who lived across the street, who in turn called the police, the report said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2595 or khardy@coxohio.com.