Philip Seymour Hoffman: Heroin found near body

Dozens of envelopes containing heroin were found near the body of Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, tests have revealed.

The 46-year-old was discovered in his New York City apartment on Sunday morning with what officials said was a needle in his arm.

Police sources said around 50 envelopes - some empty, some unopened - were discovered inside Hoffman's apartment and that tests showed they contained heroin. Officials are still working to establish whether the drug was mixed with any other substance.

Investigators also found multiple used and unused hypodermic needles and prescription drugs, including anti-anxiety and blood pressure medications, sources told Sky News New York correspondent Hannah Thomas-Peter.

A post-mortem to be carried out later by the New York medical examiner's office should give a preliminary cause of death.

A friend had spoken to Hoffman by phone around 9:00pm Saturday, in the last contact investigators are aware of anyone having with him, a law enforcement official said

He was due to pick up his three children on Sunday morning but did not show up.

The star's body was discovered in a bathroom at his Greenwich Village apartment by his assistant and a friend who made the emergency services call.

On Sunday night, a black body bag was carried out on a stretcher, loaded into the back of a medical examiner's van and driven away.

Hoffman spoke openly of his battle with drugs when he was a younger man but after 23 years sober, he admitted in interviews last year to falling off the wagon and developing a heroin problem that led to a stint in rehab.

Hoffman's family called the news "tragic and sudden".

He is survived by his partner of 15 years, Mimi O'Donnell, and their three children.

"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone," the family said in a statement.

Flowers and candles were left outside Hoffman's building in Manhattan.

The actor was photographed at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah last month where he was said to have looked tired and despondent.

The stage-trained actor's rumpled naturalism brought him one Academy Award for his role as Truman Capote and three other Oscar nominations for The Master, Doubt and Charlie Wilson's War.

He also received three Tony nominations for his work on Broadway, including Death Of A Salesman.

Broadway lights will be dimmed for a minute at 7.45pm on Wednesday night in Hoffman's memory.

He was as productive as he was acclaimed, often appearing in at least two or three films a year while managing a busy life in the theatre.

But, for all his success, Hoffman was reluctant in the limelight and in an interview with The Guardian published in October 2011 said he thought everyone struggles with self-love.

"I think that's pretty much the human condition, you know, waking up and trying to live your day in a way that you can go to sleep and feel OK about yourself," he was quoted as saying.

Tributes have been paid to him from across the film and television industries with many mourning the loss of a man who was at the peak of his career and had many more years of success ahead of him.

Source: Sky News