Entertainment> Celebrities

Thai police will know how Carradine died in one month

(Agencies)
2009-06-09 09:05

U.S. actor David Carradine (R) escorts his partner Annie Bierman (L) during arrivals for the official screening of British director Stephen Hopkins' film entry 'The Life and Death of Peter Sellers' which competes for the Palme d'Or at the 57th Cannes Film Festival, May 21, 2004. [Agencies]

BANGKOK  - Thai police said on Monday that the cause of U.S. actor David Carradine's death in a Bangkok hotel room would not be known until they had the results of the autopsy and toxicology tests in a month's time.

The police refused to give further details about their investigation into the 72-year-old actor's mysterious death, amid intense media speculation about causes ranging from suicide to murder via accidental autoerotic asphyxiation.

"We are still investigating but we will not make any assumptions about his death until we have gathered all the facts," the deputy Bangkok police chief, Lieutenant-General Amnoy Nimmino, told a news conference.

"We have to wait for the toxicology reports, the result of the autopsy and forensic evidence. We will know everything in one month."

Related readings: Carradine family seeks FBI help  Family upset over photos of Carradine's body  "Kung Fu" actor Carradine found hanged in Thai hotel

Carradine, the star of U.S. 1970s show "Kung Fu," was filming the movie "Stretch" in the Thai capital when a maid found him dead in his suite at the plush Swissotel Nai Lert Park on June 4.

The police also refused to confirm the authenticity of a grainy photo published by a tabloid-style Thai newspaper, which said it was of Carradine's naked, hanging body.

Carradine's family said it was "profoundly disturbed" by the photo, printed on Saturday in the Thai Rath newspaper, and threatened legal action, the actor's brother, Keith Carradine, said in a statement issued by lawyer Mark Geragos.

"The family wants it understood that ... any persons, publications or media outlets will be fully prosecuted for invasion of privacy and causing severe emotional distress if the photos are published," the statement said.

Thai Rath, the country's top-selling newspaper, is known for its lively coverage of crime and celebrities. It did not give a source for the photograph and the face could not been seen.

"I cannot say anything about this photograph," said Amnoy. "The media were not present at the crime scene and this picture was not leaked by the police."