Newly released police records show that a handwritten “suicidal note,” dated the morning of her death, was discovered in the Brooklyn home of celebrity chef Anne Burrell, adding fresh detail to the circumstances surrounding her death at age 55.
According to a New York Police Department report obtained by PEOPLE, an investigator found the note in the primary bedroom of Burrell’s home on 17 June 2025.
Several journal entries described as “suicidal” were also discovered on a bed in the same room.
The report states that in the early hours of that morning, a person identified as someone “married to Anne” noticed the bed had been made, which was described as unusual.
The individual, later confirmed to be Burrell’s husband Stuart Claxton, then found her on the bathroom floor “with a bunch of over the counter pills on the floor.”
He attempted to wake her by shaking her and slapping her face before calling 911 when she did not respond.
Claxton told police that his wife had “never attempted suicide in the past” and had “never talked about it,” adding that she showed no signs she might harm herself.
Emergency services were called at around 7.50am local time after concerns were raised that Burrell had suffered cardiac arrest.
Police later confirmed she was found “unconscious and unresponsive,” and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
In July 2025, Burrell’s death was officially ruled a suicide.
The New York City medical examiner’s office said the cause of death was “acute intoxication due to the combined effects of diphenhydramine, ethanol, cetirizine, and amphetamine.”
The New York Times later reported that she was found surrounded by approximately 100 assorted pills, citing internal police documents.
An NYPD spokesperson also confirmed she was discovered unconscious at her home and pronounced dead by emergency medical staff.
Burrell, best known as a long-time star on the Worst Cooks in America on Food Network, met Claxton on the dating app Bumble in 2018.
They married in October 2021.
She is survived by her husband and his son Javier, as well as her mother Marlene, sister Jane, Jane’s children Isabella, Amelia and Nicolas, and her brother Ben.
