Items Found By Police Where Celebrities Died

Heath Ledger's death on January 22, 2008, at age 28, was a shock to the acting community and his native Australia. Fellow actor-citizens of the land down under Nicole Kidman and Mel Gibson issued statements paying tribute to their compatriot (via ABC News). At the time of his death, Ledger's most renowned work was in "Brokeback Mountain," which brought him several award nominations, and he was seen as a rising star. His interpretation of the Joker in "The Dark Knight," already anticipated before his death, won him an Oscar posthumously the next year (via Oscars).

While playing the Joker, Ledger complained of a restless mind and an inability to sleep, an issue that a turn to Ambien couldn't settle. Initial statements by police indicated drugs as a contributing factor in his death. After Ledger's body was found by a masseuse and housekeeper, authorities found bottles of alprazolam and diazepam. Both are medications prescribed to treat anxiety.

Shortly after his death, per CNN, the New York medical examiner's office concluded in Ledger's autopsy report that he died of an accidental overdose. Besides alprazolam and diazepam, he was found to have two sleep medications and two painkillers in his system. In a statement, Ledger's family said that none of the drugs had been abused. Rather, it seemed like it was an accidentally lethal combination in his system.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

In its obituary for Marilyn Monroe in 1962, The New York Times rather cruelly said, "Her fame was greater than her contributions as an actress," drawing on reports from friends and coworkers to paint Monroe as a shut-in, closed off from the world in a small house and nearly empty bedroom. Some of her more prominent films were named, and her struggles with Hollywood executives and her own image as a "sex symbol" were noted, but much of the obituary was given over to the tragic circumstances around Monroe's death.

Per the Times' report, Marilyn Monroe was found by her housekeeper, Eunice Murray. After noticing the actress in an odd position through the windows, she called Monroe's doctor, who broke open the locked doors, examined her, and declared her dead on the scene. Authorities who examined the scene later found an empty bottle of sleeping pills by the bed, and additional medications elsewhere in the house.

The coroner initially hesitated to name a cause of death, though he did implicate the sleeping pills. Los Angeles police would later (per HISTORY) rule Monroe's death as a likely suicide by overdose, as she had been depressed and under psychiatric care. But the "probable" qualifier put into the final report has helped inspire conspiracy theories, including one that accuses John F. Kennedy or his brother Robert of murdering Monroe. The novel "Blonde's" acceptance of that theory led one critic to accuse it of libel (per The Guardian).

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Scandalous deaths and unusual discoveries at the scene aren't only the stuff of today. The golden age of Hollywood saw its own share of untimely ends under suspicious circumstances. By the time Thelma Todd died at age 30, she had already appeared in 75 films, including two with the Marx Brothers, and had a comic reputation in her own right (per the Santa Monica Daily Press).

Todd's personal life was less glowing, as she endured an abusive relationship with reputed mobster Pat DiCicco, an on-and-off romantic tension with her business partner Roland West, and allegedly clashed with mafia don Charles "Lucky" Luciano. Per the Los Angeles Times, she also suffered from a heart condition. But that didn't stop her from partying, and on December 14, she was seen hitting the town. At the end of the night, witnesses claimed she argued with West.

Todd was found dead in her car in her garage on December 16, 1935. She was dressed to the nines, with a mink wrap and plenty of jewels. Her reddened skin indicated carbon monoxide poisoning, and the coroner described injuries consistent with Todd's head hitting the steering wheel after passing out. Second-hand accounts say otherwise, inspiring rumors that she was murdered by West or the mob. The official ruling was suicide, although as noted by the Santa Monica Daily Press, that was later amended to accidental death. Regardless, the 1935 death of Todd is still surrounded by conspiracy. 

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

When your nickname is "The Voice," expectations for your singing talents are set, and Whitney Houston delivered. Her obituary in the Los Angeles Times traced her musical endeavors from her family background — her mother was a backup singer and Aretha Franklin was her godmother — to the launch of her self-titled album in 1985. Career highlights included multiple hit singles (three from her first album alone), a rendition of the national anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl, and "I Will Always Love You," performed for the film "The Bodyguard" in which Houston also starred.

Her meteoric rise to fame was initially coupled with a clean-cut image, but Houston increasingly indulged in drugs. Houston's relationship with Bobby Brown was catnip for tabloids and reality TV, and some fans speculated on what role it might have played in Houston's visible decline in the 2000s. But Houston herself admitted to her addictions and told ABC (via the LA Times), "I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy."

Houston's death in February 2012 at age 48 was preceded by erratic behavior at a rehearsal for a Grammy event. Per CBS News, she was found in the bathtub of her hotel room, and cocaine was later found in her system in her autopsy report. It was found in the room as well, along with a spoon covered in the drug, an open champagne bottle, an open beer bottle, and an assortment of pills and tablets from various prescriptions.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

A short, explosive man, John Belushi had a short, explosive career. Bursting onto the national stage through his work on "Saturday Night Live," he became an icon of his era as Bluto in "Animal House." With his best friend Dan Aykroyd, he starred in the cult classic musical-comedy "The Blues Brothers." But even in an era where studio patience for star excess was high, Belushi was noted for his insatiable appetites for food, alcohol, and cocaine (per the Hollywood Reporter).

By 1982, his indulging had taken a toll. Holed up in Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, ostensibly to work on a script but more often in a cocaine and heroin-induced stupor, Belushi shocked friends and executives with his physical and mental deterioration. He was so far gone, and his room was in such a state of destruction, that friend Robert De Niro was glad to take Belushi's suggestion to head out early on March 4. The next day, Belushi was dead from a speedball, a combined injection of heroin and cocaine.

Before the tragic death of Belushi, Cathy Smith, the drug dealer who gave Belushi the fatal injection, had done some cleaning on his room and removed certain paraphernalia. Nevertheless, police found traces of cocaine in drawers and envelopes, as well as a stash of marijuana. Smith's cleaning didn't extend to the garbage, laundry, half-eaten meals, alcohol, and correspondence Belushi left behind.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Pop artist Prince died on April 21, 2016, according to ABC News, with the cause of death ruled to be an accidental overdose of fentanyl. The Telegraph called him the "sole authentic genius" of the 1980s pop scene. He performed several instruments, wrote for several artists besides himself, and cultivated a reputation for showy experimentation, with limited interviews and embellishments to his personal life contributing to his public image. He was only 57 when he died.

Police investigating his death found an assortment of pills all over his home in Paisley Park, Minnesota. The mess included separate medications stored in the same container. Surveillance footage from the night before his death showed Prince himself visiting his doctor, who had written him scripts to deal with opioid withdrawal and pain from various injuries. The fentanyl was found to have come from counterfeit Vicodin, but investigators couldn't trace the source of the bootleg drug.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).