LOS ANGELES, June 8 -- The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office says toxicological tests show Phil Hartman's wife had cocaine, alcohol and an anti-depressant drug in her system at the time of her death last month. Investigators said Brynn Hartman was legally drunk and may have used cocaine as much as five hours before she committed suicide May 28.
Earlier, she fatally shot her famous actor-husband as he lay in their bed. Chief Investigator Craig Harvey said tests on Phil Hartman's body showed no trace of drugs or alcohol. Harvey revealed that Hartman was laying on his side in a fetal position when he was shot. Police believe Brynn Hartman shot her husband some time before 3 a.m. , then drove to the home of longtime friend Ron Douglas and confessed. Douglas said he followed Hartman's wife back to the couple's $1- million home in the expensive Encino section of Los Angeles, found Hartman dead and called 911. As officers were removing the Hartman children about 6:30 a.m., Brynn Hartman shot herself inside the couple's bedroom. Hartman's wife had a blood-alcohol level of .12 -- well above the .08 legal limit -- and showed 'therapeutic' levels of the anti-depressant Zoloft in her system, indicating she may have been taking the medication on a regular basis. Harvey said, 'What I'm told is the combination of alcohol and cocaine is such that it...is 1-1/2 times what it otherwise would be, and so it simply intensifies the drug action.' The 49-year-old actor was best known for his work on the NBC TV shows 'Saturday Night Live' and 'NewsRadio.' The Canadian-born comic also provided voices for cartoon characters on 'The Simpsons' and appeared in such movies as 'Jingle All The Way' and 'Sgt. Bilko.' ---
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