The New York medical examiner announced Wednesday that Heath Ledger died from the effects of taking six types of painkillers and sedatives - prescription medications not illegal drugs.
"We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications," the New York City Medical Examiner's Office said in a statement.
"Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine," the statement said.
The drugs are the generic names for the OxyContin painkiller, the anti-anxiety drug Valium, Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. Hydrocodone is another name for Vicodin, a painkiller.
Kim Ledger, the actor's father, said in a statement released Wednesday that the family was humbled to be "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," he said.
He said the toxicology results should "put an end to speculation" about the cause of death.
"While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy," Kim Ledger said. "Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage." (Yahoo! news)
My hear still goes out to his family especially to her little girl, Matilda.
Heath Ledger, 1979 - 2008
