 Although friends stated that Hoffman 's drug use was under control at the time , on February 2 , 2014 he was found dead in the bathroom of his Manhattan apartment by a friend – playwright and screenwriter David Bar Katz . Hoffman was 46 years old . Detectives searching the apartment found heroin and prescription medications at the scene , and revealed that he was discovered with a syringe in his arm . The death was officially ruled an accident caused by " acute mixed drug intoxication , including heroin , cocaine , benzodiazepines and amphetamine " . It was not determined whether Hoffman had taken all of the substances on the same day , or whether any of the substances had remained in his system from earlier use . A funeral was held at St. Ignatius Loyola church in Manhattan on February 7 , 2014 and was attended by many of his former co @-@ stars . 
