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movie news
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Wed. 01 23. 2008 10:37 AM EST
Heath Ledger Autopsy Yields Inconclusive Results
Official cause of actor's death probably won't be known until next month.
by
Chris Harris
Heath Ledger
(
Franco Origlia/ Getty Images
)
The results of a preliminary autopsy conducted by New York City's medical examiner Wednesday morning (January 23) on the body of 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger have been deemed inconclusive.
Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical
examiner's office, told MTV News that more tests were needed to determine the official cause of Ledger's death; his body was discovered Tuesday afternoon, at the foot of a bed, inside a New York apartment.
According to police, sleeping pills and other unspecified medications were found strewn across the bed, and around the body. On Wednesday, WCBS in New York and TMZ cited unnamed sources as saying that police are investigating a rolled-up $20 bill found in the apartment with an unidentified substance on it; WCBS also reports that "several drug packets containing an unknown substance" were found. A representative for the New York Police Department had no comment on those reports.
It will take around 10 days for the medical examiner's office to conduct additional tests and complete their investigation into the nature of Ledger's untimely death, Borakove said. Police involved in the investigation have speculated that the actor's death was the result of an accidental drug overdose.
Ledger's family has responded to that speculation, asking that the world wait for the medical examiner to make a determination before jumping to conclusions. The family also denied Ledger was using drugs, as has been widely reported.
The Oscar-nominated actor of such critically acclaimed films as "Brokeback Mountain" and "Monster's Ball" portrays the Joker in this summer's upcoming Batman sequel, "The Dark Knight." Ledger's colleagues and admirers have expressed shock over the young actor's death.
This report is from MTV News.
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