CAMARILLO : Body of Teacher Found in CYA Pool

A special education teacher at the California Youth Authority in Camarillo died Tuesday after she was found floating unconscious in the detention facility’s pool, authorities said.

Deirdre Svensson was pronounced dead at 1:07 p.m. at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, but the cause of death was not immediately known, Deputy Coroner Jim Wingate said.

“We don’t know what happened,” said Wingate, who added that no sign of physical trauma was apparent.

Svensson, 40, had taught speech and language in the school’s special education program for a year and a half, CYA spokeswoman Allison Zajac said.

“She was an excellent teacher,” Zajac said. “The kids liked her.”

Zajac said the death upset the 40 teachers and teachers’ aides at the school. “The staff is shocked,” she said.

Svensson came to the Ventura school after responding to a state-wide recruiting campaign by the detention facility to improve its special education curriculum, Zajac said.

Svensson, a resident of Santa Barbara, had apparently gone swimming by herself at lunchtime, Wingate said. A nearby teacher noticed her floating in the pool about 12:45 p.m., he said.

Three teachers and a parole agent pulled Svensson from the water, but their efforts to revive her failed, he said.

Wingate said an autopsy will be performed today to determine whether Svensson drowned or died from another cause.

Svensson is survived by her mother, Joyce Perry of Los Angeles, and a child in Sweden.