Old Divorce Court Filings Reveal Carradine's Ex-Wife Accused Star Of Potentially Fatal 'Deviant Sexual Behavior'
(AP) BANGKOK - The family of
David Carradine is asking the
FBI and a private forensics expert to help investigate the "Kung Fu" actor's death, attorney
Mark Geragos said Saturday, the same day Thai police said surveillance footage indicated no one had entered his hotel room before he died.
Carradine's
brother Keith met Friday with the FBI and filed reports that could lead
to the agency opening its own inquiry, said Geragos, who represents Keith Carradine. The family will also seek a private autopsy by famed forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden to determine whether another person could have been involved, Geragos said.
The actor's family hopes the body will arrive in Los Angeles by Monday, Geragos said, but he did not give specifics.
Geragos
said the family intervened because of conflicting information about
Carradine's death and a lack of direct information from Thai
authorities.
"All we really know is not much more than what the public knows, and that's disturbing," Geragos said.
FBI
spokeswoman Laura Eimiller on Saturday confirmed that Carradine's
family had contacted the agency. Agents were checking with the FBI's
legal attache at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok
to see if Thai authorities "are requesting or would welcome FBI
assistance in this matter." She said the FBI generally only gets
involved in death investigations overseas if a crime is suspected.
David Carradine's body was discovered Thursday morning in his luxury suite by a chambermaid at Bangkok's Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel,
said its general manager, Aurelio Giraudo. Carradine's family, friends
and representatives have said they doubt the 72-year-old actor would
have killed himself.
Police initially said
Carradine's body was found "naked, hanging in a closet," causing them
to suspect he had taken his own life. On Friday, however, police said
the actor may have died from accidental suffocation or heart failure
after revealing that he was found with a rope tied around his wrist,
neck and genitals leading to speculation that Carradine may have
engaged in a dangerous form of sex play known as auto-erotic
asphyxiation.
The results of an autopsy
performed Friday in Bangkok were not expected for at least three weeks,
said Dr. Nanthana Sirisap, director of Chulalongkorn Hospital's Autopsy
Center. Nanthana said that was normal considering the unusual
circumstances of the death.
Col. Somprasong
Yenthuam, who is heading the investigation, said police have
interviewed all staff at the hotel where Carradine was staying and
reviewed surveillance footage outside his room. Based on that, they
have found no evidence that anyone was in Carradine's room before he
died which they said all but ruled out foul play.
The investigation continued Saturday, with police interviewing the crew of the film that Carradine was shooting in Bangkok.
Baden
is a celebrity among forensic pathologists, appearing on a series of
HBO specials highlighting some of the more than 20,000 autopsies he has
performed. He frequently consults on high-profile cases, including
conducting an autopsy on Drew Peterson's third wife and as a defense witness for Phil Spector during his first murder trial.
Baden is the chief forensic pathologist for the New York State Police and Geragos said he expects Baden's examination will clear up many unanswered questions.
"It's an amazing thing what a good pathologist can accomplish," Geragos said.
Carradine flew to Thailand
last week and began work on a film titled "Stretch" two days before his
death. His friends and associates told CNN's Larry King he had a happy
marriage, recently bought a new car, and had several films lined up
after he finished work in Bangkok.
Carradine, a
martial arts practitioner himself, was best known for the U.S. TV
series "Kung Fu," which aired from 1972-75. He played Kwai Chang Caine, an orphan who was raised by Shaolin monks and fled China for the American West after killing the emperor's nephew in retaliation for the murder of his kung fu master.
Carradine also appeared in more than 100 feature films with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby. He returned to the top in recent years as the title character in Quentin Tarantino's two-part saga "Kill Bill."
Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.).