Hartman’s Wife Had Alcohol, Cocaine in Her System, Report Finds

The wife of actor Phil Hartman had cocaine, alcohol and a prescription antidepressant in her system after she shot and killed her husband, then committed suicide, toxicology reports revealed Monday.

Brynn Hartman, 40, had a 0.12% blood-alcohol level, well above the 0.08% at which a driver is legally under the influence in California.

There also were traces of cocaine, said Los Angeles County coroner’s spokesman Scott Carrier. Craig Harvey, operations chief in the coroner’s office, said the levels of cocaine indicated that “use could have occurred within five hours of her death.”

The drug Zoloft was “found within therapeutic levels in her blood,” Harvey said. However, he did not know whether Brynn Hartman had a prescription for the drug, which is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder.

Phil Hartman, 49, did not consume any illegal drugs, results showed. Testing showed evidence of an over-the-counter cold medicine.

Coroner’s investigators found a prescription for an antibiotic and no other prescription medication in the house when they picked up the bodies, Harvey said.

The bodies of the Hartmans were found May 28 in their Encino home. Brynn Hartman shot her husband several times before 3 a.m. that day, before shooting herself once in the head about 6:30 a.m., police said. Officers found no evidence of illegal drugs in the home.