Ledger Didn't Kill Himself: Cops

Star had anti-anxiety pills at home, was suffering from pneumonia
By Laurel Jorgensen,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 22, 2008 9:58 PM CST
Ledger Didn't Kill Himself: Cops
In this Monday, Nov. 6, 2006 file picture, actor Heath Ledger arrives for the premiere of his new film "Candy" in New York. Ledger, the talented 28-year-old actor who gravitated toward dark, brooding roles that defied his leading-man looks, was found dead Tuesday in a Manhattan apartment. The Australian-born...   (Associated Press)

Actor Heath Ledger likely died from an overdose of anti-anxiety pills today but there were no signs of suicide, police told the New York Post. The film star had generic forms of Valium and Xanax in his New York home when he was found; an autopsy is planned for tomorrow. He also had pneumonia, which may have proved fatal when mixed with sleeping pills, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Family members grieving near Perth, Australia, asked for privacy as Ledger's colleagues expressed shock and sadness over his death. Nicole Kidman called his death a "terrible tragedy" and Mel Gibson lamented, "I had such great hope for him." The director of Ledger's last Australian film cast blame on paparazzi, saying that Ledger "felt intensely invaded and got so unbelievably distressed" by the photographers. (More Heath Ledger stories.)

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