Anderson, Mo. ? Investigators expect to rule out arson as the cause of a fire that killed 10 people at a group home for the elderly and mentally ill, a police spokesman said Tuesday.

Sgt. Jason Clark of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said investigators did not have any suspects or persons of interest in the blaze, which authorities had previously described as suspicious.

Clark said detectives did not expect to discover evidence indicating the fire was deliberately set. He declined to answer other questions about their findings pending a news conference scheduled for today.

Coroner B.J. Goodwin said most of the victims had been asleep when the fire broke out, noting they were found in their pajamas and were not wearing shoes. All of them died of smoke inhalation, he said.

Police said 33 residents and two employees were there when the fire started at the Anderson Guest House. The blaze injured about two dozen people and stunned this town of 1,800 people in Missouri’s Ozark hills.

As the investigation continued, questions emerged about the home’s owner, who had been convicted in 2003 in a Medicare fraud case. The conviction raised the issue of whether he was legally allowed to operate the place.

State and federal fire investigators concentrate their inspection at the Anderson Guest House in Anderson, Mo., on a furnace, seen at center. Investigators expect to rule out arson as the cause of a fire that killed 10 people at a group home for the elderly and mentally ill, a police spokesman said Tuesday.

Robert Joseph Dupont, 62, was found guilty for his part in a scheme to bilk the federal program and was sentenced to nearly two years in federal prison.

Missouri law prohibits a felon convicted of a crime involving a health care facility from being an “operator” or “principal” of a long-term care facility, but Dupont’s exact role at the home was unclear.

In a 2004 federal bankruptcy petition, Dupont listed his occupation as executive director of the Joplin-based group home operator River of Life Ministries Inc. The ministries group operates the group home.

But Dupont’s name has not been listed on any document received by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services from the ministries since 2002, department spokesman Nanci Gonder said.

After The Associated Press pointed out the apparent discrepancy, Gonder said state officials would investigate Dupont’s involvement with the ministries.