Wall Street Journal writer Joseph Rago found dead in his apartment

Joseph Rago, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal, was found dead in his New York City apartment Thursday night.

A New York Police Department spokeswoman told the New York Times that foul play is not suspected in the 34-year-old's death. "The cause and manner of death are pending further studies following today's examination," a spokeswoman for the city's medical examiner's office said.

According to a Wall Street Journal article, editorial page editor Paul Gigot became concerned and contacted security officials at the paper when Rago didn't show up to work on Thursday.

"It is with a heavy heart that we confirm the death of Joseph Rago, a splendid journalist and beloved friend," Gigot said in a statement. "Joe and his family are in our thoughts and prayers, and we will be celebrating his work in Saturday's paper."

Rago won the Pulitzer Prize in 2011 for a series of editorials about the Affordable Care Act, which were praised as being "well crafted, against-the-grain editorials challenging the health care reform advocated by President Obama."

"No matter where you fall in the debate of health care reform, the arguments advanced by Joseph Rago in his series of editorials in The Wall Street Journal were impossible to ignore," the judges noted. "Not paying attention to these editorials was not an option for policymakers."

Rago's last editorial, a criticism of Republicans' failure to repeal 'Obamacare' and replace it with a better plan, ran Wednesday.