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TRENTON — A 27-year-old Trenton woman died of a respiratory infection and not a skin infection caused by a tattoo as police had speculated, Butler County Coroner Dr. Richard Burkhardt said Tuesday.

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

Those reports were false, Burkhardt said. Ryan died of a respiratory condition called meningococcal infection, he said.

"We've had cases like this before where (someone) comes home and dies within 24 hours," Burkhardt said. "It's probably just coincidental that she has this tattoo ... There's no evidence that the tattoo is infected."

According to a 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. Ryan's children alerted a neighbor when they couldn't wake her. The neighbor called police.