Lenexa Police confirm carbon monoxide poisoning was the cause of death for Kenna Kobin, 32, a Shawnee Mission North High School educator found dead at her home last week.
Another female victim, Kobin’s wife Katie King, remains hospitalized in serious condition.
Investigators also confirmed the source of the carbon monoxide was a car that had been left running in the home’s garage.
A Lenexa Police spokesperson said an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Mother-in-law called it a ‘horrific accident’
In a Facebook post earlier this week, King’s mother Tammy Jo Smith-King mourned the loss of her daughter-in-law and said her own daughter was “in the ICU fighting for her life.”
She called the incident a “horrific accident.”
“We are all forever changed and wounded by this. Katie needs your strength. I love you Kenna. I miss you. We will do all we can to help Katie,” Smith-King wrote.
According to the Kansas City Star, Smith-King said her daughter has gradually been making strides while in the ICU this week, including being able to focus her eyes and give a thumb’s up gesture.
First responders found dangerously high carbon monoxide levels
Lenexa Police were called to a home at 91st Terrace and Constance Street just after 1:30 p.m. last Friday to check on someone who had not shown up to work that day.
Recorded radio traffic indicates firefighters who also responded to the scene were ultimately able to open a door and immediately detected dangerously high carbon monoxide levels inside the home.
A car in the garage was eventually found to be the source of the carbon monoxide, though by the time police and firefighters responded the car was out of gas and not running.
The home did have a working carbon monoxide detector that was going off when first responders arrived, according to police.
A cat and dog were also found dead inside the house. A second dog was transported to an emergency vet, where it later died, as well.
Lenexa Master Police Officer Danny Chavez, a department spokesperson, said there were “no obvious signs of foul play.”
Kobin had been a teacher in SMSD since 2018
Kobin first worked as a math teacher at Shawnee Mission West, then last year moved to Shawnee Mission North and became an instructional coach.
She was just beginning her second year in that role at SM North this fall, according to district employment records.
“This is devastating news for all of us, as she was a cherished member of the North family,” SM North Principal David Ewers wrote in a message to families on Sunday. “As you can imagine, this will be an extremely difficult time for her family, as they process their grief.”
Ewers encouraged parents to talk to their children about Kobin’s death and said district and school staff would be on hand this week to talk to anyone “struggling to handle their emotions around this difficult issue.”
Kobin’s own Facebook profile indicates she had also previously been a teacher at Washington High School in Kansas City, Kansas.
And some people identifying themselves as former students of Kobin’s in KCK posted their thoughts on Facebook this week.
“Hurt is an understatement,” one woman wrote. “[She] was literally one of the best coaches, mentors and friends EVER. I struggled so much in high school, but she never gave up on me. Opened her doors up for me when I had nowhere to go. Literally stood by my side no matter what, not only did she make an impact on me, but other children as well.”
Another woman posted: “I would stay after school just to talk to her, she had her fanny pack Fridays & she was such a character. I used to walk in class 7th hour and say ‘let’s get mathy’ and it always stuck. When she moved schools I was so sad to not see her in the halls anymore & when she showed up to graduation to surprise some of us students I shed a couple tears.”
