News of the World Whistleblower Found Dead

Police say Sean Hoare's death isn't suspicious as the phone-hacking scandal grows daily.

The News of the World reporter who first blew the whistle on former editor Andy Coulson's knowledge of the tabloid's phone hacking has been found dead. Police say the circumstances aren't suspicious. Sean Hoare, who worked as an entertainment reporter for NoW, told the New York Times Magazine last year that Coulson had urged his staff to get access to celebrities' voice mails. Hoare admitted to tapping into voice mail accounts in the interview, and, just last week, told The Guardian that he had hoped his admission about phone hacking last year would help fix the British media's love for less-than-ethical investigative practices. Hoare had previously struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, but few details on his death have been revealed.