A six-month-old baby died yesterday after receiving accidental overdose of antibiotics at a Brooklyn hospital yesterday. "We love this baby. Oh, my God. It's just so messed up. His life was over in a second. I just can't believe it," cousin and caretaker Jhora Akther told the News. more ›

Perry Moore, an executive producer of the Chronicles of Narnia trilogy as well as an author and director, was found dead yesterday in the apartment he shared with his boyfriend. Initial reports indicate the 39-year-old died of an oxycontin overdose. more ›

Stand-up comedian Greg Giraldo, host of Last Comic Standing, and a regular Comedy Central roaster, died this week of an accidental overdose at the age of 44. On September 24, the night before his death, Giraldo performed at the Stress Factory in New Brunswick, NJ, cracking jokes about Tiger Woods and drugs. TMZ has exclusive footage from his final performance you can watch. And below, you can see Jon Stewart and The Daily Show's tribute to Giraldo, in which Stewart calls him, "one of those guys you loved to run into." more ›

Comedian Greg Giraldo, one of the regular Comedy Central celebrity roasters and judge of Last Comic Standing, has died today at the age of 44. Giraldo had been hospitalized in New Brunswick, NJ after he accidentally overdosed on prescription pills last weekend. His overdose came hours after he performed at a rally to mark National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. more ›

The medical examiner's office stated that Andrew Koppel, the son of broadcast journalist Ted Koppel, died from "acute intoxication due to the combined effects of alcohol; heroin; cocaine; diazepam, the generic form of Valium; and Levamisole, a drug used to cut other drugs." The 40-year-old was found not breathing in a Washington Heights apartment after an all-day drinking binge on Memorial Day (the apartment belonged to a friend of Koppel's drinking buddy) and was later pronounced dead on May 31. The police does not suspect any criminality. Koppel, who had a history of substance abuse issues, was expecting a second child with his partner Ilona Lieberman. more ›

One dead man and his two unconscious companions were found inside a Hyundai four-door in Jersey City at 6:35 a.m. Wednesday. The deceased is Thomas J. Johnson, 25, who was found dead behind the wheel with a plastic bag with 20 light blue oxycodone pills in his possession. Police say the car’s motor was running and Johnson "was ice-cold and his hands were blue." His 21-year-old younger brother, Brian Johnson, was unconscious beside him; also passed out in the Hyundai was Eric M. Hansen, 21. more ›

Rapists, kiddie porno and plotting thieves all figure into socialite Gigi Jordan’s suicide note, but as far as officials are concerned, they’re all fabricated. The letter—found on her laptop after she allegedly fed her autistic son a fatal dose of prescription pills and attempted to kill herself—was revealed in court yesterday. Much of her paranoia focused on her ex-husband: "I feel his final revenge will be to kill [m]e and use [our son] in the sex trade," she wrote. According the defense the wild 20-page letter is evidence Jordan should be allowed out on bond to undergo psychiatric treatment at St. Vincent's. more ›

Actor Corey Haim died this morning of an apparent overdose, TMZ reports. The LAPD confirms the 38-year-old was found unresponsive in his Oakwood, California apartment, where his mother was also staying—he was pronounced dead at Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank. The LAPD believe the death was accidental. Haim battled drug addiction for much of his life, a subject that was touched upon in "The Two Coreys," the A&E reality show he co-starred in with longtime friend Corey Feldman in 2007 and 2008. The show allegedly ended because Feldman refused to work with Haim until he got help. (Some clips of Haim after the jump.) more ›

In 2008 state fatalities due to crack, coke, heroin and other drug overdoses were down to their lowest in nearly a decade. Overdose deaths dropped more than a quarter from the previous year to 666, but don't thank Satan. Officials say an opiate antidote drug called naloxone, distributed by community groups as part of heroin users' emergency kits, may have helped lower the number. The AP reports that overdoses remain the third most common cause of death for New Yorkers between 25 and 34. Still the state's most ubiquitous illegal (though not for long?) drug remains marijuana. more ›

The father of the autistic boy found dead at the Peninsula Hotel Friday—allegedly killed by his mother—says Gigi Jordan was a totally devoted mom. “She was not a killer," said Emil Tzekov through tears. ... I cannot understand." Jordan, a successful pharmaceutical rep, even quit her job to be a better parent to little Jude. OK, not everything was copacetic: Tzekov, a successful yoga instructor, revealed that he hadn’t seen his son since 2007 because Jordan blocked his emails and cut off service to her cell phone. more ›

Nearly a month after an apparent suicide attempt, singer Alexa Ray Joel has pledged to "help young girls with something I feel I know a GREAT deal about: Heartbreak-Related Depression." In her first public statement since being admitted to St. Vincent's Hospital after calling 911 to report her own overdose on homeopathic antihistamine pills, the 23-year-old daughter of rocker Billy Joel and model Christie Brinkley explained in a Facebook note that she will begin "new creative projects" and "volunteer work in hopes to give back to the community." more ›

Billy Joel's daughter's hospitalization following an apparent suicide attempt occurred just days after the 23-year-old singer returned home from a "dysfunctional family getaway" with her supermodel mother Christie Brinkley, the Post reports. more ›

After being hospitalized for an apparent suicide attempt, Billy Joel's daughter Alexa Ray Joel is "feeling much better," her publicist told People. more ›

After his child was hospitalized following an apparent suicide attempt yesterday, Billy Joel says his 23-year-old daughter Alexa Ray Joel "is going to be fine." Alexa Ray was rushed to St. Vincent's Hospital yesterday after a roommate called 911 to report an “emotionally disturbed person” was “having trouble breathing” in their West Village apartment, the Times reports. more ›

Alexa Ray Joel — Billy Joel's 23-year-old daughter — is being treated at St. Vincent's Hospital in the West Village after an overdose on sleeping pills that police are considering a suicide attempt, according to the Post. more ›

According to People.com, an autopsy shows that celebrity DJ Adam Goldstein had eight Oxycontin pills in his stomach and one in his mouth—a source said, "He wanted to die. He was going unconscious when he took the last one. He didn't even swallow it." A Valentine from his ex-girlfriend Hayley Wood was allegedly found near him (though she denies they broke up); a bag of crack was also reportedly near his body, which was found in his Soho apartment. TMZ reports that Goldstein's funeral was scheduled for today. Additionally, his mother was made the special administrator of his estate (he did not have a will), allowing her to sell his home in LA (there was an offer on it) and settle lawsuits related to the 2008 plane crash he survived. The site adds that documents showed his "annual income from property at $3.5 million, plus an additional $400,000 in assets. The docs list his debts at $2.9 million." more ›

According to the Post, friends of Adam Goldstein say the celebrity DJ's relapse was recent and that he had promised he'd check into rehab. His erratic "behavior that so worried his West Coast manager and recovery sponsor that they jumped on a red-eye Wednesday night to confront him at his SoHo apartment Thursday morning... When they arrived, an agitated Goldstein stubbornly refused to see his manager -- but allowed the sponsor inside. That's when Goldstein lit up a crack pipe and popped pills in front of his horrified pal, investigators told The Post." He reportedly said he'd head to rehab after a Friday night gig in Las Vegas, but his body was discovered by the authorities—responding to his friends' call— on Friday afternoon. Other law enforcement sources told TMZ that the 36-year-old did not commit suicide but apparently "developed a dependency to Xanax and other benzodiazepines (a group of drugs used to treat anxiety) as a direct result of the plane crash a year ago. We're told AM (aka Adam Goldstein) developed a tremendous anxiety over flying -- something he had to do frequently for his job." Goldstein had survived a plane crash that killed four others and suffered severe burns. The ME's office autopsy was inconclusive and it is still working on the toxicology report. more ›

It's been over a week now since Dash Snow was confirmed dead from an overdose, and today the NY Times sheds some light on what exactly happened to the artist, who would have turned 28 on Monday, during his last hours. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] A not totally unsurprising rumor is going around that downtown artist Dash Snow has died of a heroin overdose. Snow is the maternal grandson of Robert Thurman (and nephew of actress Uma Thurman), and his lifestyle was well-documented in a sprawling New York magazine piece two years ago. That lifestyle at one point included making what he called a Hamster’s Nest with friends, where they would "shred up 30 to 50 phone books, yank around all the blankets and drapes, turn on the taps, take off their clothes, and do drugs—mushrooms, coke, ecstasy—until they feel like hamsters." more ›

The Post got an earful about Isiah Thomas's accidental overdose on Lunesta sleeping pills from former Knicks senior VP of marketing, Anucha Browne Sanders: "If he tried to commit suicide, I don't want to pounce on him...[but] I don't feel sorry for him. You make your bed, you lie in it." more ›

Despite the police chief involved with the case calling it a "coverup," Isiah Thomas and his family are still sticking to the story that he did not accidentally overdose on sleeping pills Friday, but that an ambulance was only called to treat his daughter's fainting after a dizzy spell. Harrison Police Chief David Hall again made the situation clear to reporters saying, "It wasn't his daughter - and why they're throwing her under the bus is beyond my ability to understand." While the former Knicks coach had nothing to say yesterday, his 20-year-old son Joshua was backing up his father's story and calling the police chief's comments "disrespectful." Meanwhile the Post says that Isiah has had a harsh fall since his demotion by the Knicks, describing him as "steeped in sadness and loneliness...dreaming that one day all those who chanted "Fire Isiah!" would be forced to eat their words." more ›

Former TV producer Julie Horner Lankamp was found dead in her Gold Street apartment Tuesday with "her crying young daughter clutching her legs," as the Daily News sensationally puts it. Relatives say they hadn't spoken with Lankamp since Sunday and police don't know how long the two-year-old had been stranded with her mother's body, which had begun to decompose. Lankamp had a broken jaw, bruises, and dried blood pooled near her nose and mouth, but the city medical examiner doesn't believe Lankamp's injuries were caused by a beating. An empty glassine envelope with cocaine residue was found near her corpse, and investigators say her injuries may have been caused by a fall after a drug overdose. Results of a toxicology report are pending, but in the meantime police are looking to interview her ex-husband, who was arrested at the end of last year "for attacking her with a chair while using their child as a human shield," a source tells the News. more ›

The U.S. Attorney's Office won't need Mary-Kate Olsen to testify because it has closed its investigation into how Heath Ledger obtained painkillers which contributed to his death. Rumors swirled about MKO's involvement and how she would only talk if given immunity, leading her lawyer to proclaim, "Mary-Kate Olsen had nothing whatsoever to do with the drugs found in Heath Ledger's home or his body, and she does not know where he obtained them" and that she had cooperated with the government. A source summed up the feds' interest in the actress to the Daily News, "We don't know where [Ledger] got the other narcotics. No one interviewed suggested (Olsen) gave him the drugs. But (Olsen) may have known where the drugs came from." more ›

In 1962, photographer Bert Stern shot a series of photos (2,571 in all) of Marilyn Monroe at the Hotel Bel-Air that are collectively known as “The Last Sitting.” The 36-year-old Monroe was in the darkest period of her life, having weathered two recent divorces, gallbladder surgery and sickness during production of the romantic comedy Something’s Got to Give, from which she was fired and rehired. Six weeks after the Stern photo shoot, Monroe died from a barbiturate overdose in her L.A. home. more ›

Yesterday, over a hundred people - made up of "fans, reporters and photographers" - waited outside the Frank E. Campbell funeral home, where the body of actor Heath Ledger had been kept since ME's autopsy. Ledger had been found dead in a SoHo apartment by his masseuse and housekeeper on Tuesday afternoon. The cause of death is inconclusive, but he had a number of prescription drugs in the apartment, many of them to aid sleeping (he had been described as looking tired recently and even told interviewers he had trouble sleeping after filming The Dark Knight). more ›

Some more details surrounding Heath Ledger's death have emerged, even though the autopsy is inconclusive for the actor's cause of death. Though CBS 2 initially reported that a rolled up $20 bill in Ledger's SoHo apartment had narcotic residue on it and that cops had found unidentified drug packets, the NYPD now confirms that lab tests found nothing to indicate the bill had been used to snort drugs and that no illegal drugs were found in the apartment. There were six types of prescription drugs in the room, including pills to treat insomnia and anxiety. more ›

The NYC Medical Examiner's office says Heath Ledger's autopsy is inconclusive, citing the need to more tests. Spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said, "The autopsy is inconclusive and we have to do further testing which includes toxicology and tissue testing. We expect to have results in about 10 days to two weeks." more ›