NEW YORK, May 22 (UPI) -- Songwriter Joseph Brooks, facing trial on rape charges, was found dead in his New York apartment Sunday in what authorities said was an apparent suicide.
Police said Brooks, 73, who won an Oscar for his song "You Light Up My Life," was found at 12:30 p.m. by a friend who had a lunch date with him. Brooks had a plastic dry-cleaning bag over his head, a towel wrapped around his head and neck near a hose attached to a tank of helium, the New York Daily News said.
Police said he left a note but they would not reveal its contents, the newspaper said.
Brooks was arrested in 2009 on charges of raping 11 young actresses he allegedly attracted to his apartment to discuss movie roles. He faced 82 counts of sexual abuse.
His son, Nicholas Brooks, 25, is charged with strangling his girlfriend, swimsuit designer Sylvie Cachay, at the upscale Soho House private club last year.
