The Associated Press is reporting that actor Heath Ledger was found dead today in his SoHo apartment by a housekeeper. The 28-year-old actor was believed to have died as a result of a possible drugs overdose. Reports from Manhattan indicate that Ledger was scheduled for an in-house massage. When he failed to respond in a timely fashion, a housekeeper entered the apartment. Ledger was found, according to MSNBC, “surrounded by pills” (which we have since learned are over-the-counter sleeping pills, non-prescription) at around 3:35pm EST.

UPDATE: The New York Times City Room blog has provided the following additional details –

At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A in the building, at 421 Broome Street in SoHo, for an appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Mr. Ledger’s bedroom. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger naked and unconscious on a bed, with pills scattered around his body. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities

UPDATE 5:50pm EST: The New York Times is now reporting that the possibility exists that this was a suicide, though the M.E. has made no official ruling as to the cause of death. Foul play, however, is in no way suspected. CNN is now reporting that the drugs in question are over-the-counter sleeping pills.

UPDATE 6:08pm EST: The New York Times has retracted their earlier statements regarding ownership of the apartment by Mary-Kate Olsen.

More details as they become available.