Michelle Williams Breaks Silence on Heath's Death

Originally posted Friday February 01, 2008 02:20 PM EST

Michelle Williams has broken her silence following the death of Heath Ledger, saying in a statement, "My heart is broken."

"Please respect our need to grieve privately," Williams says in the statement released by her rep Friday. "My heart is broken."

Adds Williams, mother of Ledger's 2-year-old daughter Matilda: "I am the mother of the most tender-hearted, high-spirited, beautiful little girl who is the spitting image of her father. All that I can cling to is his presence inside her that reveals itself every day.

"His family and I watch Matilda as she whispers to trees, hugs animals, and takes steps two at a time, and we know that he is with us still. She will be brought up in the best memories of him."