HEATH LEDGER - WILLIAMS 'HEARTBROKEN' BY LEDGER'S DEATH

HEATH LEDGER's former fiancée MICHELLE WILLIAMS has spoken out for the first time since the actor's death, telling the world she is "heartbroken". Williams, the mother of Ledger's two-year-old daughter Matilda, broke her silence on Friday (01Feb08) with a brief statement appealing to the media to give Ledger's friends and family the space and privacy to grieve in peace. The actress met and fell in love with Ledger on the set of Brokeback Mountain and the couple were together for three years before splitting last September (07). The short statement from Williams, 27, reads, "My heart is broken. Please respect our need to grieve privately." Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment last week (22Jan08), at the age of 28. An autopsy failed to reveal the cause of death, and police are still awaiting the results of a toxicology test to asses if drugs found in his apartment played a part in his death. His body has been flown to his native Australia, where a private funeral is expected to take place in his hometown of Perth.