According to the NY Post, Andrew Koppel, the 40-year-old son of TV broadcast journalist Ted Koppel, "was found dead in a Washington Heights apartment under mysterious circumstances yesterday morning after a daylong drinking binge with a man he had just met in a Midtown bar, law-enforcement sources said." The paramedics were called when the man and his friend found Koppel, an attorney for the city's Housing Authority, "had urinated and defecated in the bed and appeared not to be breathing."
The Post says that Koppel, who lived in Queens with his girlfriend and baby daughter, befriended Russell Wimberly at Smith's bar on 8th Avenue and 44th Street in Midtown around noon on Saturday. Wimberly says, "He had a straw hat on, and I had one on, and he said, 'Nice hat, man.' We got to talking, and he started buying me drinks," and that Koppel drank straight whiskey. Then they went to numerous bars, plus Koppel drank from a bottle of Jameson along the way. Wimberly said, "There was a lot of alcohol. He didn't take anything else [drugs] around me, and neither of us ate all day. We talked about our kids... He said he had a kid and loved [her] a lot."
By 11 p.m., Wimberly brought Koppel to Brenda Caban's apartment at 180th Street and Audobon Avenue, and they bought more whiskey and beer. However, when Koppel said he wasn't feeling well, Wimberly suggested he take a nap. Caban told the Post he "was just really messed up when he came in. He was very drunk... I didn't understand anything [Koppel] said. We took him to the bedroom and laid him down to rest."
About two hours later, they found in unconscious and called 911; Caban said, "His complexion wasn't right. It was pale. I said to call the police. When the ambulance came, they said he was dead." (The Post also notes that Caban calls Wimberly a "drinking buddy.") The ME's office is conducting an autopsy.
