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A newly surfaced police report has added fresh detail to the public record surrounding the death of celebrity chef and television host Anne Burrell, months after New York City’s medical examiner ruled her death a suicide.
People reported February 18, 2026, that an NYPD document describes a handwritten note investigators characterized as a “suicidal note,” along with journal entries in the same room that police said carried similar content.
What Investigators Say They Found
According to People’s account of the NYPD report, an investigator located the note in the primary bedroom of Burrell’s Brooklyn home during the response and subsequent scene processing.
The report also references journal entries recovered in the same bedroom that were described by investigators as “suicidal” in nature.
Entertainment Weekly, citing the same reporting, said the document reflects that the note and journal entries were recovered after Burrell was found unresponsive on June 17, 2025.
The People report further states that the individual identified in the police document as being “married to Anne,” widely reported as her husband Stuart Claxton, found her unresponsive and called 911.
What the Medical Examiner Concluded in 2025
The new reporting does not change the official medical finding made last year.
On July 24, 2025, the City of New York’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner, City of New York ruled Burrell’s manner of death a suicide.
The cause of death was listed as acute intoxication due to the combined effects of multiple substances, as reported by major outlets summarizing the medical examiner’s determination.
That determination, reported widely at the time, came after the initial response in June 2025 when police said she was found “unconscious and unresponsive” and the case was being examined as investigators worked to establish cause and manner.
What Is Public, and What Is Not
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The People story describes the existence of the note and journal entries, but it does not publish the text of any writing, and the NYPD report itself is not presented as a full public release in the coverage.
That distinction matters because it sets a boundary for what can responsibly be reported as fact. At present, the public record, as summarized by multiple outlets, supports three core points:
- Burrell was found dead on June 17, 2025.
- The medical examiner later ruled the death a suicide and identified acute intoxication as the cause.
- The police document described by People indicates investigators located a note and journal entries characterized by police as suicidal in content.
Beyond that, reputable reporting largely stops short of claiming motive, a single precipitating cause, or a definitive personal narrative, and it should.
Burrell’s Public Career, and Why the Update Drew Attention
Burrell was a long-running Food Network personality, best known to many viewers as a host on Worst Cooks in America and a familiar face across the network’s competition and instructional programming.
That visibility is part of why each new procedural detail becomes headline news. A police report reference to a note is not, on its own, unusual in death investigations, but in a case involving a widely recognized media figure, it shifts the public conversation, and it can sharpen the focus on what officials documented versus what the public assumes.
Summary
Reporting on suicide carries a well-known risk: the more graphic or operational the details, the more harmful the coverage can become for vulnerable readers.
The current wave of stories has generally avoided publishing the contents of the note and has emphasized the official medical ruling rather than sensationalizing the scene.
