The County of Los Angeles, Department of Coroner reports today that Scott Ruffalo, who died last December from a single gunshot wound to the top of his head, had very slight traces of cocaine, alcohol and morphine in his system.
“Basically he wasn't under the influence,” said Assistant Chief Ed Winter.
The 39-year-old hairstylist and brother of actor Mark Ruffalo
was found unconscious in his home December 1. At the time, there
were questions whether Ruffalo was mortally wounded from a self-inflicted gun shot
or if he had been murdered. Shaha Mishaal Adham, 26, was taken into
custody on a warrant of attempted murder by the Beverly Hills Police
Department in connection with the shooting, but was released December 8 — the
same night that Ruffalo was taken off life support at
Cedars Sinai Hospital.
According to news reports, Adham claimed that Ruffalo shot himself
during a game of Russian Roulette. The coroner later ruled that his
death was determined to be a homicide, but toxicology results were
pending.
“Injuries to the brain, although not immediately
fatal, were irreversible and subsequently caused death,” opined deputy
medical examiner Juan Carrillo. “The injury appears inconsistent with
the history provided by witnesses and further police investigation has
failed to clear up these inconsistencies. Therefore the manner of death
is homicide until proven otherwise.”
According to the autopsy report, detectives also recovered a .38 caliber revolver with one round fired from the weapon.
Older brother Mark Ruffalo, 41, is best known for his roles in Zodiac, Collateral and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Because of his personal tragedy, Ruffalo has been replaced by actor Ben Stiller in the upcoming feature Greenburg.