Ted Koppel mourns the loss of son, Andrew

NEW YORK, June 2 (UPI) -- Veteran newsman Ted Koppel says he and his wife will mourn for the rest of their lives the sudden death of their son, Andrew, this week.

A former lawyer for the New York City Housing Authority, Andrew Koppel was found dead early Monday at a Manhattan apartment after drinking heavily with a waiter he met Sunday afternoon, media reports said. He was 40 when he died.

"Our son, Andrew, was a brilliant, caring man, whose loss we will mourn for the rest of our lives," Ted Koppel and his wife, Grace Anne Dorney Koppel, said in a statement issued to People.com Tuesday.

The New York Daily News said Koppel lived with his pregnant girlfriend, Ilona Lieberman, and their 2-year-old daughter in Queens.

"This has been a devastating tragedy for our family," the newspaper quoted Lieberman as saying in a statement read Wednesday by her sister, Michelle.

"We will always remember Andrew as a generous, loving and compassionate father, partner, and friend. Our family grieves enormously."

A spokeswoman for New York City's medical examiner told the Daily News a cause of death will be determined after toxicology test results are analyzed.