Culture

Heath Ledger family tributes and funeral preparations

by Rob Peters | January 25, 2008 at 10:20 am

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Police have set up a barricade around the funeral home where family members will claim Heath Ledger's body at a private viewing today.

NEW YORK - Police set up barricades outside a funeral home Friday as Heath Ledger's family made arrangements to claim the body of the 28-year-old "Brokeback Mountain" actor.

A private viewing was scheduled for Friday at the Frank E. Campbell funeral home in Manhattan, and Ledger's family was flying to the U.S. from his native Australia.

Meanwhile, Ledger's family has posted a death notice in Ledger's hometown newspaper:

Ledger's family placed a death notice in The West Australian, a newspaper based in his hometown of Perth, remembering him as "the most amazing 'old soul' in a young man's body."

"As a close knit and very private family we have observed you so determined yet quietly traveling in your self-styled path in life, nothing would get in your way ... no mountain too tall, no river too wide," said the notice, which the newspaper said had been submitted by Ledger's relatives. ".... Our hearts are broken."

A heartbreaking farewell from his father:[q
url="http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23110739-661,00.html"]In a separate notice in The West Australian, Ledger's father Kim wrote: "Heatho, Beef . . . my beautiful boy: so loving, so talented, so independent, so caring, so young . . . no more chess games mate . . . this is it, couldn't beat you anyway!

"My body aches for the sound of your voice, our chats, our laughs and our life and times together . . . I will love you forever, Dad."[/q]And his sister:

The actor's sister, Kate, said she could "hardly breathe" as she tried to write her tribute. "We were the ultimate soul mates," she said.

"You were so many things to so many people, but to me you were just my little brother."

The investigation into Ledger's death is focussing on the six types of prescription drugs found near his body when he died.

It was reported yesterday that the massage therapist who found Ledger made nine minutes of phonecalls before alerting 911, but police are saying the delay won't affect the investigation because they believe Ledger was dead when he was found.

The family is saying Ledger's death was accidental, though a doctor told the Melbourne Herald Sun that that is "unlikely," since there is a large safety margin built into anxiety and sleeping medication.

Investigators say they won't find out the exact cause of death for about a week.