In hindsight, it is safe to say Inger's personal life was anything but ideal, and certainly different from her wholesome, "Sunshine Girl" public personna. In the months immediately following her death, as more information about her "secret" life and marriage to Ike became known, many observers found it difficult to reconcile the "public" Inger with the "private" one. The stress and burden of keeping her husband secret from a potentially unaccepting public back during a time when interracial marriage was not commonplace in the United States must have taken a tremendous toll on her. In addition, her past issues relating to her father, stepmother, and birth mother also contributed to her personality and psychological makeup. These factors were a double-edged sword: from early on, they gave her a maturity and inner strength beyond her years, as well as a sense of independence and self-reliance. It is perhaps this inner fortitude that allowed her to cope with these issues over the years. Yet the self-reliance and frankness she was known for hid an even deeper sense of loneliness and must have made her feel at times that she had to constantly live a lie. Add to this mix the sometimes stormy, sometimes ideal relationship she had with Ike, the relationships she had with her co-stars, it is easy to say she did not always have the stability and emotional anchors one needs to balance the daily challenges and trials she encountered. It has also been written in the popular press that Inger suffered from chronic, recurrent depression. But is any of this true? Whether true or not, a great deal has been written trying to retroactively re-create her mindset and disposition in the spring of 1970. This "armchair psychology", for the lack of better term, tries to answer the perpetual question "Why?", but that presupposes that the Coroner's Office's ruling of Inger's death as a suicide as a given. The Coroner's Office only arrived at this ruling after they themselves conducted a psychological background study, and much credence was given to Inger's previous suicide attempt 20 years ealier. Asked about that early attempt years later, Inger herself dismissed it, saying that she had learned much about herself as a result, and was much wiser for it. It should also be noted that Inger's family and close friends have never believed that she took her own life, and have maintained that stance to this day. Nevertheless, what follows is a brief chronology of events from that week in April, 1970:

In the days immediately leading up to that week, Inger and friend-publicist Emily Torschia were making the press rounds, promoting her upcoming return to television.

On the evening of Monday the 27th (April, 1970), Inger dined with Burt Reynolds, Aaron and Candy Spelling at the La Scala restaurant, and by all accounts she looked fine that night. They talked about her new series, The Most Deadly Game (originally titled Zig Zag at the time).

On Wednesday the 29th, Inger spent a joyful, excited luncheon with writers-producers Mort Fine and David Friedkin, (of I Spy fame.) Fine and Friedkin, along with Joan Harrison, were set to produce her new show. Later that day, Lola McNally, who was at the time Inger's house-guest and hairstylist, spoke to her in the early evening. Again, Inger sounded fine, with no hint of trouble or distress, according to Ms. McNally's later statements. Still later in the evening, Inger made 2 additional calls, one to a business acquaintance, the other to Chris, her former personal assistant. She informed Chris that she was going to take something to help her sleep and retire for the night.

On Thursday the 30th, in the morning, McNally returned to Inger's home and found Inger's body lying face down on the kitchen floor. According to McNally, Inger opened her eyes and tried to speak, but then went into unconsciousness. Taken to Hollywood Receiving Hospital, she was pronounced dead on arrival shortly after 10 am.

Later, the police would believe she was trying to call for help when she passed out

After some investigation, and a psychological profile made by Dr. Thomas Noguchi, Los Angeles' "Coroner to the Stars" as he would later be called,the conclusion was suicide as the cause of death. Only a recent chin cut remained unexplained. The entry on the official Death Certificate states: "acute barbiturate intoxication due to ingestion of overdose".

Mr Isaac Jones stepped foward on the morning of the 30th and presented himself as Inger's husband to claim the body, and four days after her death, provided for the private funeral service.

In the weeks that followed, Jones was challenged in court by the Los Angeles County Administrator's office for control of Inger's estate. During the proceedings, Mr. Jones was unable to produce written proof of his secret marriage, and investigators could not locate the marriage register in Tijuana, Mexico. The Administrator's Office was initially awarded control of Inger's estate. However, in a follow-up petition to the court, Jones provided letters Inger had written to others indicating that she was married, and additional documents he and Inger had signed as husband and wife concerning their property and business affairs. In addition, both her brother Ola (Carl) and father, as well as other close friends, testified on Ike's behalf, stating that the couple had held themselves out as husband and wife. Based on the preponderance of testimony in favor of Ike and Inger being married, and the couple's behavior over the years, the court ultimately ruled in Ike's favor and recognized their marriage.

He administered the estate (US $171,000 [1970 dollars]), from which nothing remains, as he declared in Court, in 1985.