Heath Ledger, Authorities say the death may be drug-related

01:11 New York 0 Comments

Australian actor Heath Ledger has been found dead at an apartment in New York. He was 28. Heath Ledger, 28, the co-star of the Oscar-winning movie "Brokeback Mountain," was found dead in a New York residence on Tuesday, police said.
"Heath Ledger was found dead at 3:26 pm this afternoon," a police spokesperson said, saying he was found in an apartment in the posh district of Soho. "We don't know the cause of the death."
Authorities say the death may be drug-related.
"We are investigating the possibility of an overdose,'' NY Police spokesman Paul Browne said.
"There were pills within the vicinity of the bed,'' he said.
Ledger's body has now been removed from his New York apartment and wheeled into the back of a medical examiner's van.
A huge crowd of news photographers gathered outside the apartment in the Soho building lit up the scene with flashes as authorities wheeled his body on a trolley from the complex into the van.
The actor has a two-year-old daughter with former fiancee Michelle Williams. He was set to play the Joker in the upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight.
A spokesperson for actress Mary-Kate Olsen denied earlier reports that the apartment in which Ledger was found belonged to her.
According to The New York Times Ledger was found naked and unconscious, with sleeping pills - both prescription medication and nonprescription - on a night table
New York police officer Martin Brown said investigators will likely not know the cause of death until an autopsy is held on the 28-year-old's body.
Asked if foul play had been ruled out, Officer Brown said it had not.
"That's what needs to be investigated,'' Brown told AAP.
"It takes a while.
"The medical examiner will do an autopsy and they will determine the cause of death.''
Ledger's body was discovered by his housekeeper, who came to tell him his masseuse had arrived for an appointment.
They entered his room and found him unconscious