Tony Scott autopsy reveals antidepressants

The coroner's report confirmed there was still no motive for the film-maker's suicide (Reuters)

The film-maker Tony Scott had anti-depressant and sleeping medication in his bloodstream when he leapt to his death from a suspension bridge in August, preliminary autopsy results show.

The report released on Monday by the Los Angeles County Coroner's office confirmed that Scott's death, which baffled investigators and much of Hollywood, was a suicide, caused by blunt force trauma and drowning. The 68-year-old British-born director of such blockbusters as Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop II had therapeutic levels of the anti-depressant Mirtazapine and the prescription sleep-aid Lunesta in his system, investigators found.

But the findings shed no light on a motive for Scott to commit suicide. A coroner's spokesman said a final report was still two weeks away. Family members have dismissed early reports that Scott was suffering from inoperable brain cancer and Craig Harvey, operations chief for the coroner, has previously said that there were no obvious signs of a tumour. The preliminary autopsy report made no mention of any evidence of serious illness.

Investigators have offered no theories as to why Scott took his life, and a note he left did not explain it. The last person to see him was an onlooker parking his car on the Vincent Thomas Bridge over Los Angeles Harbour, who saw Scott leap into the water just after noon on 19 August. His body was recovered hours later. REUTERS