the toxicology report came out today... and it was an accidental overdose
here is some of the article:
"FEBRUARY 6--Heath Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose, according to autopsy findings released today by the New York City medical examiner. Toxicology tests revealed that the actor's January 22 death resulted from "acute intoxication" brought about by his ingestion of six separate drugs, according to the below press release from the ME's office. Those prescription medications included two sedatives, two painkillers, and two anti-anxiety drugs. "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications," the coroner reported. Ledger was found dead last month in a rented Manhattan loft."
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0206081ledger1.html
Originally posted by Morning_Glory
the toxicology report came out today... and it was an accidental overdosehere is some of the article:
"FEBRUARY 6--Heath Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose, according to autopsy findings released today by the New York City medical examiner. Toxicology tests revealed that the actor's January 22 death resulted from "acute intoxication" brought about by his ingestion of six separate drugs, according to the below press release from the ME's office. Those prescription medications included two sedatives, two painkillers, and two anti-anxiety drugs. "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications," the coroner reported. Ledger was found dead last month in a rented Manhattan loft."
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0206081ledger1.html
Just goes to show that people shouldn't always belive the tabloids as well as celebrity bloggers. I told my family from the beginning that Heath Ledger died from the drugs that the police found.
Originally posted by Zeal Ex Nihilohaermm
Uh..."people shouldn't believe tabloids"? No shit, Sherlock. On the ironic side, I'm writing a mock article for a tabloid.
Originally posted by Devil King
LIES! It was NOT an accident! It was because of his role as the Joker! It got inside his head man; it made him crazy! He couldn't sleep because he was such a profound actor that he couldn't get that mad man out of his head! He killed himself to get some sleep and to get away from the Joker!
So nice now.........anyone else hearing it?
The sound of certain members shutting up now.
Delicious......this is what being right tastes like. I taste it often.
anata wa wakarimasu ka.....
Originally posted by Zeal Ex Nihilo
Uh..."people shouldn't believe tabloids"? No shit, Sherlock. On the ironic side, I'm writing a mock article for a tabloid.
But thats the sad fact, now isn't it. People think that the tabloids are truthful and when they're proven wrong than they have not too much to say. This tabloid you are writing for, I will try to avoid it unless it has pictures of hot celebs in bikinis
Originally posted by JediSamuraiMRB
Just goes to show that people shouldn't always belive the tabloids as well as celebrity bloggers. I told my family from the beginning that Heath Ledger died from the drugs that the police found.
I always knew he didn't die from a drug overdose. I never could believe it, and I guess we were right. 🙂
(Rough draft.)
Australian actor Heath Ledger’s death certainly isn’t a laughing matter, but his role as the Joker may have played a part in his apparent suicide, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively. After an extensive investigation, The ENQUIRER learned shocking details from a number of sources, including a family friend of the Ledgers. According to the findings, Ledger’s death may have been triggered by his role in the soon-to-be-released movie, The Dark Knight.
In The Dark Knight, Ledger plays the role of a mentally unstable villain, the Joker. The Joker is a criminal mastermind and psychopath. In order to prepare himself for the part, Ledger lived alone for a month in a hotel room, working the nuances of the character—including the Joker’s mindset.
This, says one source, is the tip of the iceberg on what caused Ledger’s death.
“People don’t understand. Heath was a great guy, always happy. His death doesn’t make any sense… It was him playing the Joker that did it,” the source said. “Being alone like that, acting like that. Somebody should have seen it coming.”
What’s more are the actions taken on-screen: the Joker’s murderous antics were another part, said the source. In The Dark Knight, the Joker is a psychotic villain who murders on a whim. He wears smeared make-up and has grungy green hair, and Ledger described him as “nuanced and dark and more along the lines of A Clockwork Orange.”
“He seemed different after the filming,” said the source. “He felt distant.”
Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, aptly described Ledger’s take on the character when he said, “The balls-out debauched psycho approach seems like a great way of reinventing everyone’s favorite scary (and scar-y) clown."
Paul Dini, creator of The Animated Series, echoed Hamill’s statement. “His attitude is mordant and sardonic as opposed to manic… This Joker doesn't split sides...he splits skulls.”
“The Joker, he sort of cuts through the film… [H]e's just a force of nature tearing through,” said producer Christopher Nolan.
Comments like these add fuel to the fire of the importance of the Joker’s character in Ledger’s death.
“I honestly think that he was emotionally traumatized by the role [as the Joker],” said the source. “How can you not feel [emotionally] burdened when taking on a role like the Joker?”
Jack Nicholson knew firsthand the danger in playing the Joker—he had the role in Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989. “Well, I warned him,” he said simply.
On top of the stress of acting in The Dark Knight, Ledger himself admitted to how taxing the filming was—he slept only two hours a night during the filming. He also let slip that he was taking prescription drugs to help him sleep.
But prescription pills aren’t necessarily to blame for Ledger’s death.
“It’s hard to overdose on sleeping pills alone,” said a pharmacist. “That is, unless you down the whole freaking bottle. My guess, when the tox report comes out, we’ll discover that he was mixing drugs, or mixing drugs with alcohol.
“What people don’t know is that sleeping pills slow the brain function and depress respiration, so if you have multiple substances in your system that are functionally doing the same thing, you’re screwed.”
The pharmacist refused to speculate on whether Ledger’s death was a suicide. “Like I said, it’s hard to overdose unless you try—but there’s also the chance he was mixing drugs. I won’t comment on the suicide rumors.”
A family friend of the Ledgers vehemently denied the possibility of an accidental death. “No,” the friend said. “It’s ----ing ridiculous. I knew Heathe; I was close to him. He was down-to-earth and kind-hearted. He wasn’t one of the Hollywood celebrities who partied every night.” It was this goodness that doomed him, though, said the source.
“I’m furious about this. Playing the Joker was too much for Heath to take—and I think he might have known that. But he was just so pumped for the part that no one wanted to tell him ‘no.’ Somebody should have. I’m mad at myself, mad at his family, mad at everyone involved in creating the movie.”
“Most of all, I’m mad at his housekeeper. You’re telling me she couldn’t check on him once during the day? You’re telling me that she couldn’t poke her head into his bedroom and see the mess of pills next to him? Bull----.”
Ledger’s housekeeper, Teresa Solomon, could not be reached to comment.
Another source claimed that Ledger was a drug addict. “I don’t want to hurt Heath’s name or anything, but the truth is important,” the source said. “He shot up with heroin frequently…and he was probably abusing the [prescription] drugs found in his room.
“Mary Kate was the last person he called on his cell phone,” the source added. “The pills in his room had her name on them.”
According to the source, Ledger’s role as the Joker may have had something to do with his death. “The pressure of trying not to sound or be like '89 Joker, the pressure of constantly using the extreme intensity needed to play a character like the Joker, and the pressure by fans had to of taxed his mind and body severely,” he said. “Heath may have had other issues, but his part [in The Dark Knight] seems like it could of contributed.”
Only the pending autopsy and toxicology reports will get to the truth, he added.
Ledger’s death lends a chilling overtone to something he once said—“Having a child changes every aspect of your life — for the better, of course. The sacrifices are large, but what you get in return is even bigger than the sacrifices you make. I feel, in a sense, ready to die because you are living on in your child.”
______________________________________________________
After a flurry of speculation regarding the mysterious circumstances surrounding Heath Ledger’s unexpected death, an inside source has given exclusive information to The ENQUIRER regarding Ledger’s autopsy—and suspicions deepen.
“His blood was toxic,” the source said. “He had taken at least six different prescription drugs, maybe more.”
The toxicology reports indicate that Ledger had a vast amount of medication in his blood—two painkillers, two anti-anxiety medications, and two sleep-aids. The two painkillers were oxycodone and hydrocodone, which are marketed as Oxycontin and Vicodin. The two anti-anxiety medications were diazepam and alprazolam, commonly known as Valium and Xanax. The two sleep-aids were temazepam and doxylamine, the former commonly sold as Restoril, Remestan, and Norkotral. Doxylamine is an active ingredient in Nyquil, but the chemical itself is not sold separately.
In addition to that list, two other medications were found in Ledger’s bedroom—lorazepam, marketed as Ativan, and zopiclone, marketed as Lunesta.
But, the source continued, that’s not all.
“Most people are going to chalk this up to an overdose, but it’s not that simple. We found some odd marks—almost like bruises—on Ledger’s arm and back. He also had a cut on one arm, like a defensive wound.”
Most of all, he said, were the signs that point to foul play: suffocation. “The autopsy results clearly point to asphyxiation prior to death. Some facial congestion and edema, slight cyanosis—there’s the possibility of murder in this. I just don’t know who would ever want to hurt the poor guy.”
Another source says that he had suspicions about Ledger’s death from the start.
“It’s too easy, too convenient,” the source said. “His death was no accident. I’m not saying that someone wanted Heath dead, but…well, something’s fishy. It doesn’t feel right. And the police are working just a little too quickly in burying Heath under accusations of drug abuse.”
The source with autopsy information agrees. “Even though asphyxiation doesn’t indicate murder 100%, it still makes it possible.”
Also, the source said, an accident doesn’t line up with what we know about Ledger.
“People keep saying what a bright, talented guy he was. What kind of bright guy takes six different medications? What kind of talented guy, one whose career is about to take off, kills himself? …Maybe someone gave him a chemical cocktail.”
A family friend of the Ledgers—who previously gave The ENQUIRER the scoop on his thoughts about Ledger’s death—was incensed over the treatment of the investigation, although he doesn’t think murder played a part in Ledger’s death.
“It’s stupid,” the friend said, clenching his jaw. “I can’t believe this B.S. People are going to write this off as a suicide that was Heath’s fault. Well, it wasn’t. If anything, it was the drug companies’ fault. They gave out all these prescription drugs that ended up killing Heath. They’re greedy scum who only wanted to make a quick buck.
Additionally, the friend said, Christopher Nolan—the director of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight—is to blame.
“Horse----. It’s horse----. Nolan should have had the brains to realize how hard playing the Joker would be. He also should have noticed Heath’s condition. But do you think he cares? Hell, no. He finished his movie, so why should he?”
While not everyone feels the same way as the family friend, many do feel that there was something deeper going on with Ledger’s death.
“It was because of his role as the Joker,” said one source. “It got inside his head; it made him crazy. He couldn't sleep because he was such a profound actor that he couldn't get that mad man out of his head—he needed to get away from the Joker.”