The great-grandmother, Jo Ann Ice, 74, apparently fell asleep in a recliner while smoking in her den in Lebanon Junction, about 35 miles south of Louisville, said a coroner, Tommy Kappel.
A smoke detector did not have any batteries, he said. Flames spread through the brick home before firefighters arrived about 4 a.m. The cause remained under investigation Friday. Ice was found dead in the recliner.
Also killed were Ice's grandson, 31-year-old Leslie Etherton, his wife, 24-year-old Elizabeth Etherton, and the couple's child, Skylar, who turned 3 on Monday, Kappel said.
All four died of smoke inhalation, he said. No one else was in the house.
Ice worked for years in the Bullitt County circuit court clerk's office. Her daughter, Bridgett Etherton, is a paramedic for the county EMS.
Kappel said he knew Ice for many years.
``She was a hoot,'' he said. ``Jo Ann would get you going, she was a very humorous gal. She was very well liked.''
Kappel said he had received a card Thursday from Bridgett Etherton expressing sympathy over the recent death of his mother.
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