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movie news | Wed. 02 06. 2008 10:34 AM EST
Heath Ledger Died Of Accidental Overdose: Medical Examiner's Report
Actor's death was caused by acute intoxication from the combined effects of several prescription drugs.
by Chris Harris
 Heath Ledger (Carlo Allegri/ Getty Images)
The New York medical examiner's office on Wednesday released the official cause of actor Heath Ledger's death: acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine.
The office
concluded that the manner of death was accidental, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications.
The 28-year-old actor's body was discovered inside a New York apartment on January 22. The initial autopsy report was inconclusive, and it took approximately two weeks for the medical examiner's office to conduct additional tests and complete its investigation into the nature of Ledger's death; the results of toxicology screenings helped the office determine the specific cause of death.
Soon after Ledger's death, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters during a press conference the actor was found face down, but not at the end of a bed; he was in a normal sleeping position. Kelly also confirmed reports that crime-scene technicians had found a rolled-up $20 bill inside the apartment, which they collected for testing. The bill was rolled in a manner common among cocaine users, but police said no visible drug residue was found on it.
Police told reporters that there were no illegal drugs recovered from the apartment, but there were prescription sleeping pills and anti-anxiety pills found in bottles in both the bedroom and bathroom. Six different prescription drugs were found in the apartment, including ones to treat insomnia and anxiety, along with an antihistamine. The actor had struggled with addiction to prescription medications.
Ledger's housekeeper, Teresa Solomon, arrived at his apartment around 12:30 p.m., and police say that about a half-hour later, Solomon entered the bedroom, where she found the actor lying in bed, face down, with a sheet pulled up to his shoulders. Solomon claims she could hear Ledger snoring and left the room.
Masseuse Diana Wolozin arrived just before 3 p.m. and called her client's cell phone. When Ledger failed to answer the call, both women entered the bedroom and attempted to stir the actor from his sleep. Ledger did not respond, prompting Solomon to call Mary-Kate Olsen, a friend of Ledger's, using his phone. The housekeeper called, seeking guidance, police said. She eventually called 911 just before 3:30 p.m.
Memorial services for the actor have been held in New York and Los Angeles, and family and friends have arrived in Ledger's hometown of Perth, Australia, for his private funeral, which is expected to take place on Saturday.
For more on Heath Ledger's tragic passing, read reactions from his peers and other admirers, as well as casting directors he worked with. Also, watch Ledger talk about his evolution as an actor in a 2005 interview with MTV News.
This report is from MTV News.
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