The entertainment industry was left heartbroken following the devastating news of Heath Ledger’s unexpected death.
The actor, only 28 years old at the time, was found dead in his bed by his massage therapist, leaving behind his daughter Matilda, whom he shared with former partner Michelle Williams.
The Australian-born star had dedicated countless hours to fully embodying the character of The Joker for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and had relocated to a Manhattan apartment after separating from Michelle.
Battling severe sleeplessness, desperately seeking rest and dealing with “walking pneumonia,” his close friend and occasional roommate Gerry Grennell described how a troubled Heath would restlessly walk through the apartment.
He revealed to People Magazine, “I would hear him wandering around the apartment and I’d get up and say, ‘Come on, man, get back to bed, you have to work tomorrow.’ He said, ‘I can’t sleep, man.'”
When Heath’s housekeeper turned up on January 22, 2008, at 12.30 p.m., she discovered him lying face down in bed with bedding wrapped around his shoulders. She informed The Associated Press she briefly entered to replace a light bulb before quietly leaving after hearing him snoring.
At 3 p.m. his massage therapist Diana Wolozin showed up but received no response when knocking on his bedroom door or calling his cell phone. She chose to prepare her equipment in his bedroom, but when attempting to rouse him was shocked to find his body was cold and not responding, reports The Mirror.
Upon discovering he had died, Diana dialed 911, where a dispatcher walked her through performing CPR until emergency responders reached the scene moments later. Paramedics carried out CPR and deployed a cardiac defibrillator before the Brokeback Mountain actor was declared dead at 3.36 p.m.
Speculation swirled immediately regarding the cause of his unexpected death, with many theorizing that the dark nature of his Joker role and his breakup with Michelle had sent him spiraling into depression.
However, the New York coroner’s autopsy determined he had died due to “acute intoxication” following the consumption of multiple prescription medications. His death was deemed accidental.
Authorities discovered anti-anxiety medications, the painkiller oxycodone, cough suppressant hydrocodone and sleeping pills in his system, along with other substances. “Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine,” Ellen Borakove, the spokeswoman for the medical examiner, said in a statement.
Years later in 2017, forensic pathologist Dr Jason Payne-James identified the combination of oxycodone and hydrocodone as the lethal factor. Leading up to his tragic passing, those close to Heath had expressed concern about his growing dependency on prescription medications.
The evening prior, his sister Kate had made one last urgent appeal for the star to eliminate certain medications from his regimen. “You can’t mix drugs that you don’t know anything about,” their father Kim remembered her cautioning.
“I’ll be fine,” Heath responded. Tragically, his family is convinced that his decision to ignore the advice ultimately led to his death.
“It just put his whole system to sleep I guess,” Kim shared with news.com.au regarding the coroner’s conclusions, expressing his anguish over Heath’s unwillingness to take his sister’s counsel seriously.
He added, “It was a one-off thing. That’s what killed us, because he was warned by his sister the night before: ‘You shouldn’t mix what you’re taking for pneumonia with your Ambien.'”
“He was a young guy that traveled all the time for work. Even as a two-year-old, he hardly ever slept. He was trying to work and travel and do everything in a short space of time.”
He went on, “Heath mixed a couple of drugs together with sleeping tablets and he’s gone forever.”
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA ) runs a free 24-hour hot line for treatment referrals and support: 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Calls are confidential and offered in English and Spanish.
