Mary-Kate Olsen has broken her silence over the death of friend Heath Ledger - saying it is a "tragic loss". Actress Olsen - rumored to have been dating the Brokeback Mountain star - said she was grieving for Ledger.
She told US television show Entertainment Tonight: "Heath was a friend.
"His death is a tragic loss. My thoughts are with his family during this very difficult time."
The statement follows a denial by the New York Police Department that detectives planned to quiz the former child star in connection with Ledger's death.
Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment on Tuesday. He was 28.
The masseuse who found the Brokeback Mountain star dead in bed in his New York apartment on Tuesday made several frantic phone calls to Olsen, it has since emerged.
Legal sources told the New York Post the police hoped to interview Olsen as a result. But detectives probing the actor's death rubbished those claims today (Fri).
New York police Detective Joseph Cavitolo told US magazine People: "Absolutely at no time are we going to be interviewing her.
"We never had any plans to interview her. At this point we are just waiting for the Medical Examiner's report."
Police believe Ledger was already dead by the time his masseuse had phoned Olsen, and they have ruled out foul play.
Masseuse Diane Lee Wolozin, 40, telephoned Olsen, 21, after she and the actor's housekeeper, Teresa Solomon, found Ledger face down on his bed. They had gone into his bedroom after he failed to respond to several telephone calls. They were trying to rouse him for a scheduled massage appointment.
"Heath is unconscious. I don't know what to do!" Wolozin screamed in her first call to Olsen, police said.
Olsen, who has a twin sister, Ashley, replied: "I'm sending my private security there."
Wolozin called Olsen again after finding Ledger was cold to the touch, and told the Full House star she was calling 911.
"I think he may be dead," a shaken Wolozin said.
Olsen replied: "I already have people coming over."
Emergency workers arrived about 23 minutes after Wolozin first discovered Ledger unresponsive in his bedroom near opened packages of prescription pills, sources said.
Police said Wolozin made three brief calls to Olsen between 3:17 p.m. and 3:24 p.m. She called 911 at 3:26 p.m.
Wolozin phoned Olsen again at 3:34 p.m., a minute after paramedics arrived. Olsen's security guards arrived at about the same time.
It was unclear why Wolozin called the actress before dialing 911, and why Olsen didn't advise Wolozin to make the call for help.
Also unclear is why Solomon didn't call herself before the calls went out to Olsen.
Olsen's spokeswoman did not respond to several requests for comment.
A lawyer for Olsen had no comment.
Police - who believe Ledger had been dead for up to two hours before Wolozin found him - said they did not find any illegal drugs at the scene.
Authorities did find several opened foil packs of pills, which were among the six sleeping and anti-anxiety medications prescribed in his name, near his body.
The cause of Ledger's death - which was followed by reports that he had been abusing illegal drugs in the past year - was still unknown as authorities awaited the results of toxicological test, expected in the next 10 days.
At the time of his death, the actor was said to have been exhausted and jetlagged.
He had flown to New York from London last weekend after finishing shooting scenes in England for a new movie, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."
Its future is unclear.
While Olsen and Ledger, who died at the age of 28, were never officially a "couple", the pair enjoyed an on-off relationhip that spanned more than a year, it was claimed today.
They are said to have first met over the summer of 2006, at the time he was living at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood. "Mary-Kate and Heath were casually dating for three months before Heath's death," a source told US magazine People.
"They were hooking up, but neither were particularly interested in making it exclusive."
The source added: "They had a bond that was based on partying, and they had the same tastes in partying - in terms of where they liked to hang out in New York, what time they would want to go out.
"They just had the same sensibility."
At the time of their first becoming acquainted - the summer after Ledger's Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain - Ledger and Olsen were spotted together having lunch at the Chateau with a group of friends, and Ledger was described as being charmed by Olsen, who made him laugh as he would scarf down a big meal.
"Mary-Kate made him laugh a lot," an eyewitness recalled.
By Gavin Wilson, Jan 25 2008 © Copyright 2008 - Showbiz Spy
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