https://nypost.com/2025/12/21/entertainment/the-wire-actor-james-ransone-dies-by-suicide-at-46

James Ransone, ‘The Wire’ actor, dead by suicide at 46

James Ransone, who played Ziggy Sobotka in “The Wire” and a host of other HBO roles has died. He was 46.

Ransone died by suicide in LA on Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

He was a married father of two, and wife Jamie McPhee posted a fundraiser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in her social media profile.

Ransone’s cause of death was listed as “hanging,” while his place of death was listed as “shed.” His body is ready for release, the LA County Medical Examiner’s records stated.

In 2021, Ransone came forward as a sexual abuse survivor.

The actor said that his former tutor, Timothy Rualo, sexually abused him numerous times at his childhood home in Phoenix, Maryland, over the course of six months in 1992.

—Ransone made the accusation public by posting a lengthy note on Instagram that he sent his alleged sexual abuser.—

We did very little math,” Ransone recalled. “The strongest memory I have of the abuse was washing blood and feces out of my sheets after you left. I remember doing this as a 12 year old because I was too ashamed to tell anyone.”

The alleged abuse led to a “lifetime of shame and embarrassment” for Ransone, who told Rualo his actions propelled him to become an alcoholic and a heroin addict. After getting sober in 2006, Ransone said he was “ready to confront” his past. He later reported the accusations to Baltimore County police in March 2020.