California teacher hangs herself in classroom — students find body: report

A California school teacher hanged herself in her classroom Monday, leaving students to make the disturbing discovery.

The stunned teens and another teacher pulled down the 31-year-old woman during her last gasps of life and called for help, authorities said.

A photography teacher hanged herself Monday in her classroom in El Dorado High School in Placentia, Calif., authorities say.

Emergency responders arrived shortly after the 8:40 a.m. discovery at El Dorado High School in Placentia and found the teacher in full cardiac arrest, school officials said.

“Paramedics performed life saving measures, however after several minutes the victim was declared deceased at the scene,” a Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District spokesman said in a statement. “The initial investigation indicates the cause of death to be suicide.”

Authorities and distraught students identified the teacher as Jillian Jacobson, a popular photography instructor who had been at the school for eight years.

She had apparently arrived early on Monday and locked herself in the classroom. Her first-period students persuaded another teacher to unlock the door when they couldn't get in, and they all entered together, police said.

"When they walked in that's when they found her," Placentia police Lt. Eric Point told the Daily News.

Students and friends mourned Jacobson on Twitter throughout the morning.

“Thank you so much Mrs. Jacobson for teaching me how to take amazing photos, and also for being a great friend,” one wrote on Twitter.

Several students claimed Jacobson’s father had also committed suicide and she had often counseled students about the dangers, according to the Orange County Register.

Authorities were still trying to reach her husband early Monday, a school official said.

In addition to her job at El Dorado, Jacobson spent her summers teaching art and photography at a kids camp on California State Fullerton’s campus, according to an online profile.

“My goal every summer is to give campers an experience they will always remember, and to send them home with art work they will be proud of for years to come,” she said on a site for the program.

School crisis counselors met with students who initially discovered the suicide scene, and they’ll remain at El Dorado to help other students and teachers as needed, school district officials said.

Classes were canceled at 11 a.m.

Jacobson didn't leave a note in the classroom, and it was unclear what drove her to kill herself in the room where she taught, police said.

"I've been doing this a long time, and I've never had to deal with that," Lt. Pointe said. "It's certainly sad for the kids."