Reaction to Heath Ledger's Death

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

22 Jan 2008 10:28 PM

Less than 24 hours after Heath Ledger's body was found facedown at the foot of his bed with prescription sleeping pills nearby, the actor's family, publicist, and even New York police are saying that there is no evidence that he may have committed suicide.

An autopsy on Ledger's body is scheduled to take place Wednesday morning, but the results (especially any related to toxicology tests) won't likely be released for a while.

In the meantime, Ledger's parents, who live in the actor's native Australia, broke their silence following the news that their 28-year-old son had died. Kim Ledger, Heath's dad, made a public statement that read his son's death was "untimely and accidental." The elder Ledger also revealed that his son was found "peacefully asleep" in his New York apartment. Which is not exactly the same information police had initially released to the media.

In his statement Heath's father did hint that the family was particularly distraught over media reports that the actor may have taken his own life. The family says Ledger was "not that kind of person."

As for the bottles of prescription sleeping pills, which were found near Ledger's body, police would only confirm that Heath's name was printed on both bottles. In addition, some media outlets have been reporting that Ledger was sick with pneumonia when he died and that the sleeping pills were prescribed due to insomnia he suffered as a result of working so hard.

As for Ledger's former fiancée and the mother of his only child, Michelle Williams, sources say the actress was on location in Sweden reportedly with the couple's 2-year-old daughter Matilda when she got the news of Ledger's passing. Several reports say Williams and Matilda got on a plane bound for New York as soon as the news broke.

According to news reports, the 27-year-old actress is "devastated" and "distraught." And while their 3-year relationship didn't last the couple still remained "friends" for the sake of their daughter.

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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