NEW YORK — Actor Heath Ledger's death was due to an accidental overdose of prescription drugs that included painkillers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication, the New York City medical examiner revealed Wednesday.
"Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine," medical examiner's spokeswoman Ellen Borakove disclosed in a news release.
The 28-year-old Ledger was found dead two weeks ago in his rented SoHo apartment. There was some initial speculation in the media that the actor may have committed suicide or died from a drug overdose, since the police found several different types of prescription drugs at the scene.
The Australian-born star had an appointment for an afternoon massage and it was his masseuse, Diana Wolozin, who discovered his body on Jan. 22. When Ledger failed to come out of his bedroom by 3 p.m. for their scheduled appointment, Wolozin called him on her cell phone. After no one picked up, she entered the room, set up the massage table near his bed, and shook him while he was lying in bed. Upon finding him unresponsive, she proceeded to call Ledger's friend, actress Mary-Kate Olsen, three times over the next nine minutes before dialing 911.
Ledger had been in London shooting a new film days before his death. He had revealed in recent time that his latest film projects, the Batman movie "The Dark Night" and the Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There," had taken a toll on him, causing him to experience troubles with his sleep.
"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," he told The New York Times in November. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." The actor disclosed that he had taken two Ambien pills, resulting in just an hour of sleep.
In 2005, Ledger was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the film "Brokeback Mountain." He began dating his co-star in the movie, Michelle Williams, and the couple later had a daughter (Matilda) together before splitting last year.
On Tuesday, Ledger's family returned to the actor's hometown of Perth, Australia to make arrangements for his funeral.
Ledger's father, Kim, released a statement through his son's publicist following today's announcement, saying: "While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage."
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