Widow of Robin Williams suggests dementia as suicide cause, not depression

Widow of Robin Williams suggests dementia as suicide cause, not depression

Autopsy in late 2014 revealed condition, previously thought to be early Parkinson's Disease.

The widow of actor Robin Williams, Susan Schneider Williams, spoke publicly for the first time in over a year about the situations and disease the actor had before he died.

The New York Times reports that Mrs. Williams is citing Lewy body dementia for Williams’ suicide in 2014, in interviews with People magazine and ABC News. Previously, depression was determined as the cause.

In the interview with People magazine, Mrs. Williams calls depression just one of “50 symptoms, and it was a small one.” The widow hopes that her husband’s death will “shed some light” on sufferers of Lewy body dementia, saying that they, nor her husband knew he was suffering from the disease.

The interview was shown Tuesday on ABC’s Good Morning America, with additional segments scheduled to be shown on World News Tonight, Nightline, and The View.

Press representatives for Mr. Williams shared on the date of his death that the actor was “battling severe depression as of late.” Mrs. Williams said herself, three days later that Williams suffered from depression, anxiety, and “early stages of Parkinson’s,” details of which the actor was not ready to share with the public.

However, the coroner’s report released later in 2014 revealed that Robin Williams had diffuse Lewy Body Dementia, which is commonly confused with Parkinson’s due to similar symptoms.

In the ABC interview, Mrs. Williams expressed that her husband had an “endless parade of symptoms,” none of which would surface at the same time. At times she thought he may have been a hypochondriac, as they could not find answers for the source of illness.

Mrs. Williams was the actor’s third wife, and recently settled an estate dispute with Mr. Williams’ three children, over owed funds and personal items.

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