Robin Williams killed himself by hanging himself with a belt, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday, as it announced the results of a preliminary investigation into the beloved actor’s suicide. Mark Matthews reports.
Robin Williams killed himself by hanging himself with a belt, the Marin County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday, as it announced the results of a preliminary investigation into the beloved actor's suicide.
WARNING: The contents of this video may disturb some viewers. Investigators held an update following the death of Robin Williams. Preliminary cause of death: asphyxiation caused by hanging.
The iconic actor and comedian had "been seeking treatment for depression," Boyd said, confirming what Williams' publicist had said Monday. Boyd declined to say more, citing federal privacy laws.
AP
Flowers are placed in memory of actor/comedian Robin Williams on his Walk of Fame star in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. Williams, a brilliant shapeshifter who could channel his frenetic energy into delightful comic characters like "Mrs. Doubtfire" or harness it into richly nuanced work like his Oscar-winning turn in "Good Will Hunting," died Monday in an apparent suicide. He was 63. Williams was pronounced dead at his San Francisco Bay Area home Monday, according to the sheriff's office in Marin County, north of San Francisco. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
AP
Flowers are placed in memory of actor/comedian Robin Williams on his Walk of Fame star in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. Williams, a brilliant shapeshifter who could channel his frenetic energy into delightful comic characters like "Mrs. Doubtfire" or harness it into richly nuanced work like his Oscar-winning turn in "Good Will Hunting," died Monday in an apparent suicide. He was 63. Williams was pronounced dead at his San Francisco Bay Area home Monday, according to the sheriff's office in Marin County, north of San Francisco.
KNBC-TV
Robin Williams' Star on the Walk of Fame was flooded with flowers and remembrances to the Oscar-winning actor and comedian who died on Monday, August 11, 2014 at the age of 63.
KNBC-TV
Robin Williams Star on the Walk of Fame was flooded with flowers and remembrances to the Oscar-winning actor and comedian who died on Monday, August 11, 2014 at the age of 63.
KNBC-TV
Hand-written notes and memorabilia were placed alongside flowers, candles and photographs of the comedy star.
AP
A man takes a photo of a the marquee of the Laugh Factory with a message in memory of actor Robin Williams displayed, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles Monday, Aug. 11, 2014.
KNBC-TV
A memorial to the late comic legend Robin Williams was posted on the marquee of Los Angeles comedy venue, the Laugh Factory after the actor died on Monday, August 11, 2014.
KNBC-TV
Robin Williams Star on the Walk of Fame was flooded with flowers and remembrances to the Oscar-winning actor and comedian who died on Monday, August 11, 2014 at the age of 63.
Getty Images
Passersby take in the makeshift memorial for Robin Williams on August 11, 2014 in Boulder, Colorado. The exterior of the house was used in the opening credits for "Mork & Mindy," the comedy based in Boulder that catapulted Williams' career.
Getty Images
Heather Devlin of Falls Church, Va. places flowers at a makeshift memorial for Robin Williams on August 11, 2014 in Boulder, Colorado. The exterior of the house was used in the opening credits for "Mork & Mindy," the comedy based in Boulder that catapulted Williams' career.
Getty Images
Flowers and pictures that are part of a growing memorial sit on the steps in front of the home where actor and comedian Robin Williams filmed the movie Mrs. Doubtfire on August 12, 2014 in San Francisco, California.
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People gather near a makeshift memorial for Robin Williams in front of Carolines on Broadway comedy club on August 12, 2014 in New York City. Williams died after hanging himslef on August 11, 2014 at his home in Tiburon, California.
Getty Images
People gather near a makeshift memorial for Robin Williams in front of Carolines on Broadway comedy club on August 12, 2014 in New York City. Williams died after hanging himslef on August 11, 2014 at his home in Tiburon, California.
AP
Flowers, notes, and a Mork & Mindy commemorative lunchbox are among the things left at a makeshift memorial in Boulder, Colo., Tuesday Aug. 12, 2014, outside the home where the 80s TV series Mork & Mindy, starring the late Robin Williams, was set.
AP
Brandon Scales places flowers on the star of actor-comedian Robin Williams at a makeshift memorial along the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014.
AP
A photo of the late actor Robin Williams playing Mork from Ork hangs with flowers and notes left by people paying their respects, at a makeshift memorial in Boulder, Colo., Tuesday Aug. 12, 2014, outside the home where the 80s TV series Mork & Mindy, starring Williams, was set. The Academy Award winner and comic supernova whose explosions of pop culture riffs and impressions dazzled audiences for decades and made him a gleamy-eyed laureate for the Information Age.
Boyd stressed the findings by Marin County Chief Forensic Pathologist Joseph Cohen were preliminary, and he would not discuss whether the 63-year-old had left behind a message for anyone.
"We are not discussing the note, or a note, at this time," Boyd said.
Boyd also did not know if Williams had taken any drugs or consumed alcohol before he committed "suicide by asphyxia." That information will not be available until a toxicology report is returned.
Boyd recounted a brief timeline of events that led to the shocking discovery.
Williams' wife, Susan Schneider, last saw her husband Sunday at about 10:30 p.m. She retired to one room to go to sleep, and her husband went into another, Boyd said. That was the last time anyone saw him alive. [[270824971, R]]
It wasn't until the next morning at 11:45 a.m. that Williams' personal assistant knocked on a bedroom door. There was no response, Boyd said. When the assistant went in, Williams' body was seated in a chair and "cool to the touch." The "distraught" assistant called 911 at 11:55 a.m., Boyd said.
Boyd said it's unknown at this point exactly what time Williams killed himself, but the actor was pronounced dead on Monday at 12:02 p.m. when firefighters arrived.
The Marin County Sheriff's office received some negative feedback from Internet users who thought the department's divulgence of graphic details was unnecessary. Lt. Boyd declined to comment on the department's decision when contacted by NBC Bay Area.
"We will address this in any future press conference we conduct," Boyd said in an email.
Williams was open about his persistent battles with substance abuse, as he often made light of his cocaine use during his 1980s standup routines and discussed his alcoholism openly.
NBC Bay Area’s Terry McSweeney reports on the illness that may have led to Robin Williams’ death, and why the sense of loss for the public is different this time.
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