Cops Detail Heath and Mary-Kate Connection

Knowing they were friends, masseuse who discovered body used actor's cell phone to call Olsen for guidance

By Natalie Finn Jan 24, 2008 3:10 AMTags

There's a reason why New York police thought at first that Heath Ledger died in an apartment owned by Mary-Kate Olsen.

Authorities said Wednesday that the masseuse who discovered the actor's body in his bedroom called Olsen twice before dialing 911.

Diana Wolozin arrived at about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday for her scheduled appointment with Ledger and was let in by housekeeper Teresa Solomon, according to new information released by investigators. When he hadn't emerged from his bedroom at 3 p.m., Wolozin called him on her cell phone. After no one picked up, she entered the room and saw the 28-year-old lying in bed.

Solomon had been in the apartment around 1 p.m. to change a lightbulb in an adjacent bathroom, and had heard the actor snoring. With that in mind, police are estimating Ledger died sometime between 1 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.

Apparently not noticing anything wrong at first, Wolozin began to set up her massage table. She then tried to rouse Ledger, who was cold to the touch.

Police said Wolozin then grabbed Ledger's cell phone and used speed dial to call Olsen, whom she knew to be a friend of the actor's.
 
According to the masseuse, she told Olsen that Ledger was unconscious, and the actress, who was reached in California, told Wolozin she would call private security contacts she knew in New York.

With Ledger still unresponsive at 3:26 p.m., Wolozin called 911 and told the dispatcher the Brokeback Mountain star was not breathing.

Paramedics and one of Olsen's security contacts arrived at nearly the same time, at 3:33 p.m. It was then that Ledger was moved from his bed to the floor, police said, clearing up conflicting reports about where he was originally found.

Further attempts to revive him using defibrillators and CPR failed, and he was pronounced dead at 3:36 p.m. By then, more security personnel summoned by Olsen had arrived, as had the NYPD.

Everyone at the scene—Solomon, Wolozin and the three security guards—has been cooperative in the investigation so far, police said.

Authorities also confirmed Wednesday that a rolled-up $20 bill found in the apartment was clear of drug residue, and there were no illegal narcotics or alcohol at the scene.

Officers discovered a container of prescription sleeping pills in the bedroom and other bottles and packets of unidentified Rx meds were found elsewhere, but it isn't known yet whether any of the substances contributed to Ledger's death.

Officials speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that six different prescriptions were found, including pills for anxiety and insomnia. Three were issued in Europe.

An autopsy performed Wednesday was deemed inconclusive, with a spokeswoman for New York's chief medical examiner saying it could take an additional two weeks before blood and tissue tests—including a toxicology screen—come back.

Ledger's body was released Thursday to a New York funeral home, she said. A rep for the family says no public memorials are planned for the U.S. or his native Australia.

Michelle Williams, Ledger's erstwhile fiancée, and their two-year-old daughter, Matilda Rose, returned to their Brooklyn home Thursday evening after flying in from Gothenburg, Sweden, where the 27-year-old actress had been shooting a film.

(Originally published Jan. 23, 2008 at 5:46 p.m. PT)