Accidental Pill Overdose Killed Ledger

Andy,

What?

They never said it was ibuprofen, only that it is a widely used prescription painkiller, which it is.

Yes they did say it was ibuprofen originally. The article was changed after Andy wrote this.

Notice, they have changed the story now, it says:

Hydrocodone is a widely used prescription painkiller.

They do this with AP stories all the time, change the story with no notice. This is just wrong if you ask me! It outta at least have a revised date and time on it.

It's always been that way, and with every newswire service, just the nature of the beast. Only now we get to see it happen in real time. It happened back in the day, too, with different editions of newspapers published at different times throughout the day.

Which eyewitnesses are those? The only reference to that I've heard is that he was at a party where other people were snorting an unknown substance. I don't doubt that I was at parties (in college) where that was happening, and I've never snorted any substance -- known or unknown.

He was in Mary-Kate Olsen's apartment/condo when he died.

Brian,

Incorrect, the pre-mature-famous-death-media-frezy-ejaculation report can be blamed for that lie.

It was his apartment.

That would seem to contradict the articles that I've seen thus far, saying this:

found dead in the bed of his rented SoHo apartment.

Hrm, seems you're right. I hadn't read much since the first few days of reporting, and that version of events definitely stuck around for longer than it should have, considering it's not true.

I read that the masseuse called Mary-Kate Olsen because she knew the two were friends, and used the speed-dial on Heath's phone.

Eg:

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173398,00.html?xid=rss-fullcontentcnn

When the 28-year-old actor did not respond, the masseuse – who knew that Ledger was friends with Olsen – used the speed dial on Ledger's cell phone to call Olsen in California asking for help, the sources say.

Okay, that makes sense then, if they were friends. Somehow I just couldn't picture Ledger and either of the Olsen twins as a romantic pairing... which is what all those early reports seemed to insinuate. Whether he was found at her apartment, or they called her, or whatever... I hadn't seen any reasons as to why.

Sure there is, especially if you're prescribed with them and have been taking them regularly; building a tolerance.

It could be argued as totally accidental, maybe he was just trying to get high. There's a good chance no one will ever know for sure.

I don't know if you've ever known someone being treated for (say) PTSD, or depression, but it is possible to be taking that many pills without trying to kill yourself.

Adding to that: It's very possible (and seems likely) that he became addicted to these pills for (what started as) legitimate medical reasons.

The question I have is: Were all the pills prescribed by the same physician, or was he doctor hopping?

I don't doubt that it's possible, but it also seems strange to say "accidental" with such certainty. The question was never whether he died from pills or some other means; we already knew that pills were the culprit. The question was whether it was intentional or not. The medical examiner has given an answer for the only question remaining, but I don't really see how someone could come to a certain conclusion one way or the other. I honestly doubt we'll ever know the answer for sure. A good argument could be made for either side.

I think calling it "accidental" is a sensitive move on the part of the examiner, assuming accident when insufficient proof exists either way. Regardless, this report is fairly insubstantial as far as new information goes, giving us only confirmation of what we already knew along with speculation on the motivation, which only Ledger himself could know.

Well, the lack of a suicide note is a key piece of evidence for me. My guess is that, if there's no proof of suicide (no note, no one coming forward to say he was planning to do it) especially if the drugs are legally prescribed, accident should be the default designation.

Further, judging by the amount of pills left vs. when they were prescribed vs. the levels found in his system (was he taking the pills as prescribed, just in a lethal combination?) an examiner could determine with a fair amount of certainty whether a person was trying to kill himself.

They're likely saying accident based on the number of pills or level of each drug found in his system. I'm a medical examination junkie and love all things autopsy related (weird, I'm aware).

Intentional overdoses are typically done at high doses. Someone aiming to kill themselves doesn't think rationally and therefore doesn't plot the lethal mathematics: "Ok self, so a combo of 1000 mg of Vicodin, 5 mg of Xanax, 320 mg of Oxy topped with a few OTC sleeping pills will do the trick..." Suicides usually pop by the handful or whatever's left in the bottle so if the ME found only normal or slightly above normal amounts in his system, then it would be ruled accidental.

Also, if he had access to Xanax, Oxy & Vicodin it's highly unlikely he'd bother with some OTC sleep meds unless he didn't know the possible effects; All three are generally highly sleep inducing on their own, even for an addict they'd cause drowsiness combined.

Anyway, the ME will usually err on the side of non-suicide if the facts are on the fence- that's for the family's benefit. A sense of comfort & relief for them, even if it's possibly false. Unless suicide is 100% positive, they won't rule it that way.

You have already made that comment twice...Did you happen to also read that he had plenty of pills left over ? Usually people that O.D. PURPOSLEY Purposely would do so with taking ALL the pills, not just one of each. However this is something that none of use will ever really know for sure.

"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger told The New York Times. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." He said he had taken two Ambien pills, which only gave him an hour of sleep

However something far more logical ? Read his last comment and combine that with the impact that Ambien has on many people and its pretty easy to see that it could have just been an error on his part. Ambien use + lack of sleep + a busy schedule + jet lag can add up to one very dangerous combination.

Are you guys crazy?

Are you ?

should actors be required to seek psychological help after tackling certain emotionally charged (and often psychotically inclined) roles

Interesting comment and probably an excellent idea considering the high suicide rate, the drug abuse rate and the numerous actors/actresses/singers/etc that have run into problems.

My guess is enforcing it would be a nightmare and deciding when is the time that person needs the help. In many other fields such as Fire, Police, Social Work, Counseling, they all have a very set schedule that after a set amount of time on the job, then they take a break and get some counseling. With the on again and off schedule of acting, I would think that would be hard to decide when is right.

However since actors are always playing basically a fantasy life, I would think it would tend to be a area that would have some major psychology issues come up often.

Thanks Tedd. Although you're certainly right about the difficulties with their schedules and what not, particularly in contrast to other fields, I think it's more than doable if tied to a specific project. For example, Heath Ledger's contract would have specified that after playing a psychopathic killer like the joker, he would be required to visit a psychologist, be it for a review visit and then a second review at a later date, or for a predetermined amount of therapy. I think an actor can spare at least an hour to promote his/her psychological well being before/during/after finishing production and promoting a film project. Tying it to his/her contract would certainly take care of the scheduling. :)

Again, just pondering...