David Carradine Death Mystery: Suicide, Murder, or Auto-Erotic Asphyxiation?

June 08, 2009

Actor David Carradine's untimely death in a fancy Bangkok, Thailand hotel room last Thursday morning, June 4, 2009 has certainly created waves of emotion and speculation among his fans around the world.  His family is also horrified - and rightly so - over a death photo that has reportedly been published in a Thailand tabloid newspaper that explicitly depicts the 72-year-old actor hanging naked from the support bar in a closet in his hotel room, his hands tied in front of him.  Some reports have stated that a rope was also tied around his genitalia.  The death scene photo that has made its way into the Thailand tabloid has understandably prompted the Carradine family to threaten lawsuits for invasion of privacy and emotional distress over its publication, particularly if it makes its way into any U.S. publication.  It was allegedly one of those taken by the forensics team investigating the unexplained death, and it would seem that an investigation into how the photo made its way to the tabloid is in order.

"The family is outraged about the release of these photos," said attorney Mark Geragos, who represents David Carradine's brother, actor Keith Carradine.  Geragos told Larry King that the Carradine family wants the case investigated, with FBI involvement if possible.

"I would think that the people in Bangkok would want to support an investigation and allow the FBI to go over there and assist in the investigation so we can get the answers to the questions," Geragos told King.  So far, according to reports coming out of Thailand, the FBI has not yet contacted authorities in that country.

Carradine arrived in Thailand last week to begin work on a new film called "Stretch."  Friends and associates said that he was happy about the new film, was happy in his marriage, had several other films in the works after completing work in Bangkok, and had no reason to be suicidal.  Suicide also went against his personal belief system, some said.

Although the police in Bangkok initially believed Carradine's death was a suicide, his family and others close to him do not believe he committed suicide.  No suicide note was found, and the conflicting accounts surrounding the circumstances of his death have led some to speculate that he was either murdered or had died while engaging in auto-erotic asphyxiation, a dangerous practice that cuts off the oxygen supply to the brain to enhance the effects of orgasm during sex.

Bolstering theories of murder or auto-erotic asphyxiation was the fact that Carradine's hands were tied in front of him, causing some to theorize that another person was likely in the hotel room with him at the time of his death.  Discoloration of his skin on his lower extremities, also known as postmortem lividity, was an indication that Carradine had been dead for several hours before his body was discovered by a chambermaid at the luxury hotel.  Carradine's attorney, Vicki Roberts, purportedly believes that her client was murdered and that the scene may have been arranged to look like suicide or auto-erotic asphyxiation.

"In some cases it (auto-erotic asphyxiation) can suggest murder, too," said Pornthip Rojanasunand, director of Thailand's Central Institute of Forensic Science, considered by many to be Thailand's top criminal forensics expert.  "But sometimes when the victim is naked and in bondage, it can suggest that the victim is doing it to himself.  If you hang yourself by the neck, you don't need so much pressure to kill yourself.  Those who get highly sexually aroused tend to forget this fact."

Carradine purportedly had a history of engaging in auto-erotic asphyxiation, according to a report that appeared in RadarOnline.com.  Unfortunately, the official cause of the actor's death won't be known until around the end of June, according to lead investigator Lt. Gen. Worapong Chewprecha who said that the autopsy results are "at least three weeks away."

In the meantime, Carradine's death remains a mystery. His body has been returned to the U.S.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

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Comments

[David]

The family of actor David Carradine is already having to mourn the death of the late actor who was found hanging dead from his closet in Bangkok, Thailand.

[Kendra]

Mr. King, I was wondering what ever happened with this David Carradine case. Was it murder or suicide or do we still not know? Thanks. Kendra

[Gary C. King]

Unfortunately, Kendra, there's no definitive answer to your question, and there may never be one. As you'll recall, Thai police originally theorized suicide--later conceding that it could have been accidental, but an autopsy after Carradine's body was returned to the U.S. failed to determine whether he killed himself or died accidentally from suffocation or heart failure during a sex game involving autoerotic asphyxiation. In July, a second autopsy was performed on Carradine's body by Dr. Michael Baden. Although Dr. Baden said that his death was consistent with asphyxiation, he also said that he could not determine whether his death was accidental or by homicidal means. Baden did say, however, that Carradine's death did not appear to be the result of suicide. If anything definitive ever turns up about Carradine's death, I'll do an update on the article here. Thanks for your question.