HEATH LEDGER DEAD
By C.J. SULLIVAN, PHILIP MESSING and HASANI GITTENS
As a registered pharmacist, we can't jump to conclusions about an overdose. It's possible he took one pill too many and it had, in his case, sentinel consequences. While one pill may be more than prescribed, in most cases, and depending on the Rx...
posted by Duane Reade
A New York Police Department spokesman says actor Heath Ledger has been found dead.
Oscar-nominated actor Heath Ledger was found naked and dead in his
The 28-year-old star's ex-fiancée, actress Michelle Williams, was flying to
While some sources said Ledger was depressed, the actor's father, Kim, later released a statement declaring his son's death "accidental."
One cop at the scene said it did not appear to be suicide, but police were still investigating, and an autopsy is scheduled for today.
Ledger was found by his maid and the masseuse with whom he had a scheduled
Pills were strewn around the bed, and there was a bottle next by the actor's body, police sources said. The maid and therapist called 911 at about 3:26 p.m. Emergency workers were unable to revive the star, and he was pronounced dead at
Bottles of the generic forms of Xanax and Valium, both anti-anxiety drugs prescribed in his name, were found in the house, according to law-enforcement sources. The sleeping drug Ambien was also found near his body, sources said. The maid said she last heard the star snoring around
"We are investigating the possibility of an overdose," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.
"There were pills within the vicinity of the bed."
One police source said "it does not appear to be a suicide." Ledger, a native of
An "insider" told
"Heath was shattered by his split from Michelle. He became a recluse. He barely slept. He was dealing with terrible mood swings," the source told the Mail's Web site. "Heath totally wanted to be on his own these past few months since he and Michelle split in September. She was very much in love with him, but the fact that he continued to dabble in drugs kept their relationship from being one she could rely on," said the source.
"He adored his daughter, Matilda, and when Michelle called it quits, he missed Matilda so much that he was thrown into a deep, dark depression."
Ledger's family is shocked and "devastated," according to Los Angeles-based private investigator Paul Barresi, a close friend of the actor's uncle, Neil Bell.
"The father and mother are devastated because they found out of his death through the media," said Barresi, who talked to the uncle shortly after Ledger's death.
He quoted
"We always greeted each other. It's such a shock," said Julie McIntosh, 32, who works in a hair salon on his block and said he was "upbeat and positive."
"He looked happy as can be, always pleasant. He didn't seem like that [suicidal]. He always had a smile on his face," she said.
But up-and-coming actor Jonathan Zarin, an acquaintance of Ledger's, said he'd been told that the star had been feeling down.
"We heard that he was depressed, but we didn't think it was to the point where he would do something so drastic. It was out of the blue. He must have been in a bad place," said Zarin. "He always gave me good advice about acting, he was always the nicest guy."
Michelle Vella, a worker at the Calypso kids store in
Additional reporting by Perry Chiaramonte, Tim Perone, Jim Fanelli, Braden Keil hasani.gittens@nypost.com
Source: http://www.nypost.com/seven/01222008/news/regionalnews/heath_ledger_dead_916418.htm
