Heath Ledger autopsy inconclusive

NEW YORK - An autopsy on Heath Ledger was inclusive, and more tests are needed, the medical examiner's office said Wednesday, a day after the 28-year-old actor was found dead with sleeping pills nearby.

It will take about 10 days to complete the investigation, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner.

Earlier, police said the death was caused by a possible drug overdose and appeared to be accidental.

Fans left flowers and candles today outside the apartment building in Manhattan's SoHo where the body of the Oscar-nominated star of "Brokeback Mountain" was found.

Ledger’s family rejected any suggestion today that the actor killed himself and joined fellow Australians in mourning one of their rising stars after he was found dead in a New York apartment.

The Australian-born actor was found face-down and naked at the foot of a bed in a Manhattan apartment Tuesday. Police said there were prescription sleeping pills near Ledger’s body, but that there was no obvious sign he had committed suicide.

Members of Ledger’s family faced a throng of journalists in the actor’s hometown of Perth in western Australia and read a prepared statement saying his death was purely accidental, though they did not say whether he died of an overdose.

“We, Heath’s family can confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda,” Ledger’s father Kim told reporters. “He was found peacefully asleep in his New York apartment by his housekeeper at 3:30 p.m. U.S. time.”

Kim Ledger remembered his 28-year-old son as a “down to earth, generous, kindhearted, life-loving, unselfish individual” who was “extremely inspirational” to those who knew him.

“Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life that few had the pleasure of truly knowing him,” Kim Ledger said. “Please now respect our family’s need to grieve and come to terms with our loss privately.”

Meanwhile, tributes from fellow Australians flooded in, with actress Nicole Kidman calling Ledger’s death a “terrible tragedy.”

“My heart goes out to Heath’s family,” she said through her Australia-based publicist, Wendy Day.

Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expressed shock at losing “one of our nation’s finest actors in the prime of his life,”

“Heath Ledger’s diverse and challenging roles will be remembered as some of the great performances by an Australian actor,” Rudd said in a statement.

Heath received an Oscar nomination for his role as a troubled gay cowboy in the 2006 film, “Brokeback Mountain,” where he met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film. The two had a daughter, now 2-year-old Matilda, and lived together in Brooklyn until they split up last year.

Neil Armfield, who directed Ledger in his last Australian film, “Candy,” said the actor had “handled his career incredibly well,” steering himself toward more challenging roles.

“He made a decision about four years ago to stop being led by producers and managers and to forge his own way,” Armfield told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio “He started working with the most interesting directors. He was so successful at breaking out of the teen idol image.”