The New York City medical examiner's office has just released a statement with regard to Heath Ledger's death. They have deemed the actor's death an accidental overdose - which should put an end to all the rumors saying he might have committed suicide. I was about to say this is good news - but under the tragic circumstances, I'll just settle for saying that I feel thankful we can all have closure on this terribly sad affair. "Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine. We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications", reads the statement.

Well, the first thing that went through my mind when I read that was that he was taking a whole lot of pills to begin with. But then again, he was having some serious troubles sleeping, and he wasn't taking any of the drugs in question illegally. In the end, if the insomnia was getting in the way of his acting and was messing with his concentration, it's quite understandable that he wanted to keep it under control. Also, what I deduce from the released statement was that the trouble was not that Heath had taken too much of one drug (which might have led us to think suicide) but rather that he mixed too many of the already dangerous drugs together.

In the end, it's a good thing the news came out today, even as Heath's family and close friends have gathered in the actor's native Perth to lay his body to rest. It's a sad coincidence, but it's also a welcome timing - as I was saying, it will allow all those who loved Heath and are devastated by his death some much-needed closure and maybe help with the grieving and the healing process. Also, there will be no more rumors that the actor committed suicide, which will also take away some of the media pressure and allow Heath to rest in peace, with an untainted memory. Once again we say goodbye to a talented young actor who achieved so much prior to his death and had such a promising future ahead of him. R.I.P. Heath Ledger.