The Wire actor Michael K. Williams died of drug intoxication, says medical examiner
CBC
Actor Michael K. Williams died of acute drug intoxication in what New York City's medical examiner said Friday was an accidental death.
Williams, known for playing Omar Little on The Wire and an Emmy Award nominee this year, had fentanyl, parafluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine in his system when he died Sept. 6 in Brooklyn.
Williams, 54, was found dead by family members in his penthouse apartment. Police said at the time that they suspected a drug overdose.
The city's Office of Chief Medical Examiner said it would not comment further. A message seeking comment was left with Williams's representative.
Williams had spoken frankly in interviews in recent years about his struggle with drug addiction, which he said persisted after he gained fame on The Wire in the early 2000s.
"I was playing with fire," he told the Newark Star-Ledger in 2012.
"It was just a matter of time before I got caught and my business ended up on the cover of a tabloid or I went to jail or, worse, I ended up dead. When I look back on it now, I don't know how I didn't end up in a body bag."
