Comedian Robin Williams had no illicit drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of death, the coroner for Marin County, California reported on Saturday after finishing the investigation.
Williams did have prescription medication in his system, which was taken for “therapeutic reasons,” according to the coroner. Williams had been suffering from depression prior to his death and he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease recently, ABC News reported.
Williams was found dead in his home in Tiburon on August 11 from what investigators suspected was suicide by hanging, CNN reported. He was 63. Investigators believe Williams used a belt to hang himself.
Williams had a “recent increase in paranoia” in the weeks before his death and he was sleeping in his stepson’s room due to insomnia and anxiety associated with Parkinson’s, the coroner’s report read.
On Friday, a pathology report said Williams was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in November of last year, years after he began noticing symptoms including tremors in his left arm and slowing of movements of his left arm.
Williams was found by his personal assistant, who used a paperclip to open the locked door of the bedroom. Williams was found in a seated position on the floor with a belt around his neck and the other end of the belt wedged between the door frame and door of the closet.
A cellphone was found in Williams’ pocket. After it was charged, the coroner found no messages referencing suicide. The last call was made the night before to his wife, Susan Schneider.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”– Susan Schneider” author_title=”Widow of Robin Williams”]
Robin spent so much of his life helping others. Whether he was entertaining millions on stage, film or television, our troops on the front lines, or comforting a sick child — Robin wanted us to laugh and to feel less afraid.
[/quote]
In a statement, Williams’ widow Schneider said that his sobriety was “intact” at the time of his death and called him “brave” for battling depression, anxiety and the beginning of Parkinson’s disease, ABC News reported.
