JOHNSTON COUNTY, OK - A fire early Friday morning was thought to have claimed the life of a 60-year-old Jane Bullard. Now the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide. Friends, students and co-workers say they're devistated by the loss.

Tishomingo and Ravia Fire Departments responded to the blaze around 7 Friday morning on Rock Creek Road near Tishomingo. When they arrived the home was completely engulfed in flames. Inside the home they found Bullard's body.

Investigators from the State Fire Marshal's Office and Medical Examiner's Office, along with Johnston County Sheriff's deputies and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation were at the scene on Friday. Bullard's body was taken to Oklahoma City for an autopsy.

On Monday, the State Medical Examiner's office ruled Bullard's death a murder. She worked in Ardmore, teaching Higher Education classes for Murray State College.

Friends, students and colleagues say the loss of Bullard is devastating, but they say knowing that someone killed Bullard makes the pain almost unbearable.

"It’s a sad time around here, a very sad time. We're all just walking around in a fog right now,” Janice Ellis, aformer student and friend of Bullard’s, said.

A small homemade wreath now sits in front of the classroom where Bullard used to teach at the Ardmore Higher Education Center. Bullard's death leaves many like Ellis with an empty feeling.

This is the only picture we have of Bullard. Ellis says her former teacher and close friend was camera shy, but she was never short on compassion for others.

"All she needed was the clothes on her back; the rest went to other people. She had a food bank in her house. She had a clothes bank in her house for the needy. All she asked for was just enough to eat and live on; she was a phenomenal human being,” Ellis said.

Co-workers say Bullard's passion was people, and she believed in every one of her students. Over her 12 years as a Murray State College instructor, colleagues say she touched thousands of students in her sociology and psychology classes.

"She loved her students and she loved to teach. I know they loved her. She was a very unique individual." Dr. Steven Mills, the AHEC Director, said.

"She wanted to see people succeed. She wanted them to be successful and she was very good at encouraging people to follow their dreams,” Margie Richie, a co-worker and friend of Bullard’s, explained.

The Ardmore Higher Ed Center has counselors on hand to help students and staff deal with the loss.

But for students and friends like Ellis that hardest part is knowing Bullard's death was no accident, and that the beloved teacher and community member was killed

"I don't know an enemy - not one - even the people that didn't pass her class loved her. She told it like it was and she was there for you, why anybody, how anybody could do that to such a lovely person is a mystery,” Ellis said.

Loved ones say per Bullard's request, no flowers please. Instead donations can be made to Murray State College for a scholarship in Bullard's name. Or donations can be made to the Diabetes Association or the Salvation Army.