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Accidental Overdose Killed Ledger, Examiner Says

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 7, 2008

Actor Heath Ledger died from an accidental overdose of six different drugs - painkillers and sedatives - the medical examiner said Wednesday, leading doctors to warn of the dangers of mixing prescription drugs.

The 28-year-old film star died "of acute intoxication" from the combination of two strong painkillers, two anti-anxiety medicines and two sleeping aids, according to the medical examiner's office.

Among the drugs found in his body were oxycodone, a painkiller sold as OxyContin and used in other pain relievers such as Percodan and Percocet. Others included drugs sold as anti-anxiety pills Valium and Xanax, which are sedatives.

The medical examiner and police wouldn't identify the medications Ledger had in his apartment when his body was discovered on Jan. 22, nor would they discuss who had prescribed them.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating how Ledger obtained the medications and whether they were prescribed illegally. It's common for investigators to review prescriptions when so many drugs are involved in an overdose death, said spokesman Rusty Payne.

"This is not rock star wretched excess," said Cindy Kuhn, a pharmacology professor at Duke University. "This is a situation that could happen to plenty of people with prescriptions for these kind of drugs."

Police found six bottles of anti-anxiety medicines, sleeping pills and other medicine in his Manhattan apartment after the Oscar-nominated actor was discovered dead in his bed last month.

Experts said the combination of sedatives and the other medicines likely combined to suppress his brain function and his breathing. They said Ledger probably had been prescribed the medicine by a number of different doctors, because several of them were from the same class of drugs and used to treat similar symptoms.

Ledger's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, released a statement Wednesday from Ledger's father, Kim.

"While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage."

Hospital Quietly Releases Troubled Spears

Britney Spears was quietly released Wednesday from a hospital where she had been undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, a police official said.

"It occurred without any law enforcement intervention, and for the public that's a good thing," said Capt. Sharyn Buck, commander of the North Hollywood police station, which covers the area of Spears' home.

The troubled singer was hospitalized early on Jan. 31, taken by ambulance under an extensive police escort to a psychiatric facility at UCLA Medical Center.

A Superior Court commissioner subsequently placed Spears and her estate under temporary conservatorship, which expires Feb. 14.

Her father, James, was named conservator of Spears, and he and an attorney were made co-conservators of the estate.

Spears, who is in a child custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline, also was briefly hospitalized earlier in January after police were called to her home when she refused to return her sons to a Federline bodyguard after a visit. That trip to the hospital occurred amid a swarm of paparazzi.

Spears has since lost all visitation rights.

Today's Birthdays

Country singer Wilma Lee Cooper is 87. Actor Miguel Ferrer is 53. Saxophonist Brian Travers of UB40 is 49. Actor James Spader is 48. Country singer Garth Brooks is 46. Keyboardist David Bryan of Bon Jovi is 46. Comedian Chris Rock is 43. Actor Ashton Kutcher ("That 70's Show") is 30.

Source: The Associated Press

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