Ledger's Toxicology Results: Died From Acute Intoxication, Abuse Of Prescription Medications, Death Accidental

The NYC medical examiner finished Heath Ledger's toxicology report 15 days after he was found dead in his New York apartment. They ruled Ledger's death was caused by "acute intoxication" and abuse of prescription medications.

In a statement Ellen Borakave, spokesperson for Office of Chief Medical Examiner, confirms:

"Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine. We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications."

The Feds says they will probe how Ledger obtained his many prescriptions:

"We are working with the NYPD to identify any illegally prescribed drugs that may have been prescribed to [Ledger]," Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Erin Mulvey tells PEOPLE, confirming news first reported by TVGuide.com on Wednesday.

TMZ reports :

The NYPD found five different medications in Ledger's apartment after his death, including anti-anxiety medications Alprazolam (Xanax), Diazepam (Valium) and Lorazepam (Ativan). The sleeping medication Zopiclone (Lunesta) and the sedative Temazepam (Restoril) -- which is used by people with "debilitating insomnia" -- were also found.

The autopsy two weeks ago was inconclusive.

Ledger's family has released a statement on the findings:

We remain humble as parents and a family, among millions of people worldwide who may have suffered the tragic loss of a child. Few can understand the hollow, wrenching, and enduring agony parents silently suffer when a child predeceases them. Today's results put an end to speculation, but our son's beautiful spirit and enduring memory will forever remain in our hearts.

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.

Our family enjoyed an extremely happy two week visit with Heath just prior to the New Year. Those recent precious days will stay with us forever. We as a family feel privileged to have some of his amazing magic moments captured in film. To most of the world Heath was an actor of immeasurable talent and promise. To those who knew him personally, Heath was a consummate artist whose passions also included photography, music, chess and directing. We knew Heath as a loving father, as our devoted son, and as a loyal and generous brother and friend.

We treasure our beautiful granddaughter Matilda (to our dear Michelle) as well as an unbelievably wonderful network of close friends, forever, around the world. Families rarely experience the uplifting, warm and massive outpouring of grief and support as have we, from every corner of the planet. This has deeply and profoundly touched our hearts and lives. We are eternally grateful.

At this moment we respectfully request the worldwide media allow us time to grieve privately, without the intrusions associated with press and photography.

Former fiancee Michelle Williams arrived in Perth with their daughter Matilda earlier today for Ledger's burial this weekend. His family returned home earlier this week.

Comments

[harry9000]

Look people, here's a mirror to yourselves:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/02/heath_ledger_and_personal_resp.html

enjoy.

[Horst]

Sad story....but you have to be really dumb to take this combination of pain and sleep meds. Definite Darwin Award contender.

[LeonFreilich]

HEATH ALERT

He counted on Valium

And with it dozed

But he counted too many

Now the Ledger is closed.

[GalaxieGal]

Apologies if this is a dup, my computer crashed as I was posting.

Anybody else notice that the google ads that appear directly about these comments are all for drugs, such as Xanax?

[GalaxieGal]

Has anybody else noticed that the ads by google that appear directly above the comments section are all about buying drugs like Xanax?

[fightorleave2]

Question: How do these drugs cause death if they were not used in excess, as his parents state?

I understand he might have taken them in combination and something called contraindications, but my question is how could someone say that he was not taking drugs in excess?

Why would anyone take all of these drugs??? It seems to me that merely taking so many drugs was the excess and cause of his death and not that they were taken in combination.

[JayZee]

Rest in Peace Heath

A prescription too often represents a guess.

Voltaire once said that "Doctors are men who give drugs of which they know little, into bodies of which they know less... for diseases of which they know nothing at all."

We can allow that medical knowledge has advanced a good deal since the 18th century. However, we cannot not allow that drugs are safe. They never have been safe, and they are not safe now. Medicine is LESS imprecise than in Voltaire's time, but it is still imprecise. Refer back to the Physician's Desk Reference again for proof of this.

Therapeutic nutrition is a serious option, and a safer one, too. Ask for it.
http://www.doctoryourself.com/medicines.html

[raker]

Stories about Ledger's death cite accidental overdose of prescription drugs, as though he meant to take a therapeutic dose but mistakenly took too much - oxycontin AND vicodin AND valium AND xanax AND assorted sleeping pills. So what would it take to indicate intention to commit suicide? Maybe the key difference is fame and money. Anyone else might have been determined to be a suicide.

[adc]

Oh! He died from a drug overdose. Now I can sleep.

who gives a shit?

[marignymitch]

I hit the 'Flag as abusive' option. Maybe that will help. Where are the monitors? The grown-ups would like to post.

Anyways:

I suffer from PTSD and self-medicated for 15 years. I was in an awful lot of pain. Agony, acutally. But I finally found help. So when I heard Ledger was dead my first thought was 'Jeez, I bet he was in a helluva lot of pain.' And it appears he was. What a tragedy. What a terrible loss.

[amanda85]

What will it take to get this DavidGetsInvolved moron banned?

[degjack]

David, if Heath could see what a crazy-whack-o nut-job-like-you he has for support in these blogs, he'd o.d.

[phreso]

I agree with a probe. Some Doctor is getting rich out there, taking celebs money to prescribe them whatever they ask for, instead of doing what is best for them. They probe should prove who they are and they should be charged with negligent homicide.

[deglispiriti]

Please spare us any further wastes of both time and space and by killing this DGI person's account as s/he so desperately requests. S/he's a miserable literalist and an annoyance to at least this reader.

[OhPlease2007]

"Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds, and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of, wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence.

Hov'ring there,I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air.

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue

I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or even eagle flew

And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."

- John Magee, Jr.

Heath Ledger, another remarkably talented Aussie -&- decent human being, ... gone too soon; mortal life, limited by Earthy time, *is* beautifully precious. May he rest in peace.