Robin Williams apparently killed himself by hanging, according
to a preliminary coroner's report released today. Marin County
sheriff's spokesman Lt Keith Boyd told reporters that the actor
and comedian, who was 63, had hanged himself in his bedroom at
his home in Tiburon, in northern California.
The Oscar-winner was last seen alive by his wife, Susan
Schneider, at home late on Sunday evening. Believing he was
still asleep, Schneider left the house at around 10.30am on
Monday. When Williams's personal assistant arrived just over an
hour later, police said, she became worried when he failed to
answer the door. She gained entry, only to find him dead.
A pocket knife was found close to the actor�s body, and there
were superficial injuries on the body that Lt Boyd said were
likely self-inflicted.
The actor's death was attributed to asphyxia caused by hanging,
though the investigation is ongoing, including a toxicology
report which is expected to take up to six weeks. Williams's
long struggle with drug and alcohol abuse was well documented.
He quit his cocaine habit and stopped drinking when his first
child, son Zak, was born in 1983. More than two decades later,
in 2006, he checked himself into rehab after relapsing into
alcoholism. He also visited a 12-step rehab programme earlier
this summer, though he reportedly had not relapsed. His
publicist said on Monday that he had been suffering from a
�severe depression� in the months before his death.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/robin-williams-dead-
police-say-actor-was-found-hanging-in-his-bedroom-by-personal-
assistant-9665009.html