New details from the NYPD have emerged following the celebrity chef’s death on June 17, 2025.

Chef and TV host Anne Burrell left ‘suicidal note’ in bedroom of her home, police say

New details from the NYPD have emerged following the celebrity chef's death on June 17, 2025.

By Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum is a staff writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2019 and is a published author. Her work has previously appeared in *TV Guide Magazine*, E! News/E! Online, *The Hollywood Reporter*, Mashable, Bustle, IGN, DCComics.com, Inverse, *The Daily Northwestern*, and more.

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February 18, 2026 4:43 p.m. ET

Anne Burrell on 'Worst Cooks In America'. Credit:

A police report has revealed new details about celebrity chef Anne Burrell's death.

The Food Network star died at the age of 55 in June 2025, and her cause of death was ruled a suicide five weeks later. On Wednesday, PEOPLE obtained a new report from the New York Police Department that stated a "suicidal note" and journal entries were discovered in Burrell's home.

According to the outlet, an investigator found the note and "suicidal" journal entries in her bedroom in Brooklyn, N.Y., following her death on June 17, 2025.

The report states that an individual "married to Anne" — referring to her husband, Stuart Claxton — "noticed that the bed was made in their room, which is not normal," in the early morning hours of June 17, 2025. He then reportedly discovered his wife unresponsive on the bathroom floor next to "a bunch of over-the-counter pills." He immediately called 911 when he was unable to wake her by "shaking her and slapping her face."

Kyle Torrence and Anne Burrell on 'Worst Cooks In America'.

According to the police report, Claxton said Burrell "never attempted suicide in the past" and "never talked about it." He said there were no "signs that she would do something like this."**

On June 17, 2025, at around 7:50 a.m., officers from the 76th Precinct in Brooklyn, N.Y., responded to a report of "an unconscious and unresponsive 55-year-old female." Emergency medical services later arrived and pronounced her deceased on scene.

The *New York Times *reported that Burrell had an overdose, stating that Burrell was "discovered in the shower unconscious and unresponsive, surrounded by approximately (100) assorted pills."

Anne Burrell's official cause of death revealed after death at 55

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Five weeks later, the New York City Medical Examiner concluded its investigation and ruled her death a suicide, with the cause of death as "acute intoxication due to the combined effects of diphenhydramine, ethanol, cetirizine, and amphetamine." Diphenhydramine and cetirizine are antihistamines, ethanol is a compound found in alcohol, and amphetamines are commonly used to treat ADHD.

Burrell trained as a chef in Asti, Italy, before returning to her home state of New York. She worked in renowned restaurants, including Felidia and Savoy. She broke into TV when Mario Batali invited her to work for Italian Wine Merchants and later appointed her his sous chef on *Iron Chef America* in 2005.

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Best known for her tenure on *Worst Cooks in America, *Burrell served as a mentor on the show for 27 seasons. Her final season, *Worst Cooks in America: Talented and Terrible*, debuted after her death.

Following the news of her death, a representative for the Food Network told *, *"Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent — teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring. Our thoughts are with Anne’s family, friends and fans during this time of tremendous loss."

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