Authorities are investigating Anne Burrell’s sudden death as a possible drug overdose, according to The New York Times.
The 55-year-old Food Network star was found dead in the shower of her Brooklyn home on Tuesday, June 17. Per an internal NYPD report obtained by the Times, Burrell was discovered “unconscious and unresponsive” surrounded by approximately 100 assorted pills.
A spokesperson for the NYPD confirmed to PEOPLE that emergency responders arrived on the scene but were unable to revive her. The New York City Fire Department’s 911 call report noted the caller believed Burrell may have suffered cardiac arrest.
Although an autopsy has been completed, the official cause and manner of death remain pending, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
In her final weeks, Burrell spent time with friends and family and continued her efforts to support others. Her sudden passing has left the culinary world in shock.
Fellow chef and longtime Food Network colleague Duff Goldman shared that, behind her lively on-screen persona, Burrell had been facing personal emotional struggles—something she rarely let show to the public.
On Thursday, June 19, Goldman shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, posting a photo of himself with the late chef accompanied by a long message.
“I’ve written and re-written this post so many times in the past 24 hours and I just don’t know what to say. Anne and I became friends in probably 2006. She was going through some stuff and I had heard that she was feeling it so on a trip to NYC from Baltimore I had made her a cake that said “Don’t let the bastards win.” She never did”
. We had a complex relationship and I remember the last conversation we had before our paths drifted was a pretty feisty debate about the merits of catfish. I believe the words “trash fish,” “tastes like mud,” and “cake boy” were used, haha. Anne and I always had a spirited and somewhat acerbic back and forth.”
“I really never knew why our paths drifted but I always hoped that wherever she was, Anne was doing well and was finding some happiness. Then a year or two ago I was at a gala in NYC with my wife and daughter and I took Josephine out to the lobby to give her a break from sitting at a table listening to speeches. We were playing with the marble columns and as we rounded one we saw Anne.”
“Now, at this point we hadn’t spoken in years, and I won’t go into what we talked about but I will say that that conversation left my heart lifted and full of light, for it truly seemed to me that Anne really had found a measure of happiness and love. Life is tough, and we have to be tough to get through it. Anne was as tough as they come, but when you got past the armor there was a depth of compassion and kindness that was absolutely beautiful.
“My heart sings when I think of the love and tranquility that it seems Anne had found recently, and her genuine smile for my daughter and me in that lobby are what makes this tragedy just a little more bearable. Anne, wherever you are I hope they have slow moving rivers because when I get there, we’ll get a couple of rods, a pint of chicken livers, and a sixer and I’ll teach you how to catch and cook the best catfish you ever had. Rest up, chef..”
