Songwriter 'commits suicide' while awaiting rape trial - months after son was arrested for murder of swimsuit designer girlfriend

An Academy Award-winning songwriter who was awaiting trial for rape has been found dead of an apparent suicide in his Manhattan apartment.
You Light Up My Life writer Joseph Brooks, 73, was discovered in his Upper East Side apartment around 12:30 pm by a friend with whom he had planned to have lunch, police spokesman Paul Browne said.
Brooks was found with a plastic bag around his head. A hose attached to a helium tank was hooked up to the bag, police said.

Brooks was found with a plastic bag around his head. A hose attached to a helium tank was hooked up to the bag, police said.

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