A Coroner Analyzes Robin Williams' Death

So much detail has been released about Robin Williams' death that the local authorities are coming under fire. INSIDE EDITION explains.

New details of Robin Williams' death are painting a grim picture of the beloved performer's final moments.

Williams was last seen alive by his wife at 10:30 Sunday night. He was found at 11:45 the next morning by his assistant. There was no hope.

INSIDE EDITION asked forensic pathologist Bill Manion to analyze the information released by the sheriff's department.

He said, “If he had been discovered within a minute or two of doing this, even within four minutes, he could have been brought back."

See More of Manion's Interview with INSIDE EDITION

At a press conference on Tuesday, Sheriff's Department Lieutenant Keith Boyd  said, "Mr. Williams at that time was cool to the touch with rigor mortis present."

Dr. Manion says Williams' body temperature is a key clue, allowing investigators to determine the exact time of death, saying, “Generally, the body will lose one-and-a-half degrees per hour. So, if you start at 98.6 and you lose enough temperature to be at like room temperature, he's probably been dead for 10 hours, 12 hours.”

That means he probably killed himself shortly after his wife last saw him on Sunday night.

Another meaningful clue said by the sheriff's department was, "The inside of Mr. Williams' left wrist had several acute superficial transverse cuts."

Dr. Manion said, "It’s very painful to cut into the skin there and he may have attempted a couple of times and said this hurts too much. Let me think of something else.”

Williams’ official cause of death was asphyxia due to hanging.

“Hanging doesn't take long. You're going to be unconscious in 20 or 30 seconds and dead within four or five minutes,” said Dr. Manion.

Now, there's growing controversy over whether officials revealed too much about Williams' death.

A Twitter storm erupted during the news conference.

One tweet read: “Wow. Was not expecting this level of detail. Why does the world need to know this?”

Williams' longtime pal Bob Zmuda, who founded Comic Relief, blasted the news conference, saying, “I think they went overboard. We don't need to hear those things. The family doesn't need to hear those things. Not now!”

But Dr. Manion is hoping the enormous interest in Williams' death is at least bringing attention to the affliction of depression that affect so many, saying, “He became so depressed and so pessimistic, he thought, enough's enough.”