Los Angeles (E! Online) - The results are in: The New York Medical Examiners Office has announced that Heath Ledgers surprise death on Jan. 22 was the result of an accidental overdose of potent prescription drugs.
Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine, medical examiner spokesperson Ellen Borakove said.
Wednesday mornings announcement puts to rest lingering rumors that illegal drugs may have played a part in the Brokeback Mountain stars untimely passing, despite denials from police that any such substances were even found in the actors SoHo apartment. It should also quell any Mary-Kate Olsen-related conspiracy theories.
Shortly after the body of the 28-year-old actor was found, police confirmed they had recovered six different prescription medications, among them sleeping aids, anti-anxiety pills and an antihistamine. Borakoves rundown of the lethal combination of pharmaceuticals that felled Ledger were the generic names for the painkillers OxyContin and Vicodin, the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, the sleeping pills Restoril and Unisom.
Three of the medications the Oscar-nominated actor was on were prescribed in Europe. All of the medications were issued in Ledgers name.
The official cause and manner of death was originally expected to be announced Tuesday, though the NY Medical Examiners Office delayed relaying the news for unspecified reasons.
Prior to the results being announced publicly, Ledgers family, currently back in their hometown of Perth, Australia, after attending several Stateside memorial services, had to be contacted and informed of the information.
The family returned Down Under Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday afternoon, local time, Ledgers former fiance Michelle Williams and two-year-old daughter Matilda touched down in Perth in anticipation of a weekend burial for the actor.
Williams donned black and carried Matilda, who was hauling a white stuffed rabbit, through the airport terminal while surrounded, as Ledgers family was just one day prior, by tight security.
Once outside the airport, the duo were escorted to a waiting car, which drove them directly to the suburban home of Ledgers mother, Sally.
While the family has kept mum, and indeed issued repeat requests for privacy, a funeral for the is expected to take place this Saturday at Perths Karrakatta Cemetery. He will reportedly be interred in a family plot, alongside two of his grandparents.
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