Billy Bob Thornton's Daughter Charged with Murder

June 30, 2009

"[She's] not moving, not reacting to anything…she's got vomit coming out of her mouth."

Those were some of the words believed spoken by the husband of actor Billy Bob Thornton's daughter, 29-year-old Amanda Brumfield, during a 911 call made on Oct. 3, 2008, in an attempt to get medical help for an injured child.  During the approximate seven-minute call, Brumfield can be heard administering CPR to the child while her husband received medical instructions from the 911 operator.

Brumfield, an unemployed bank loan officer, was booked into Florida's Orange County jail Wednesday, June 24, 2009, on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter involving the death of an infant child left in her care last October.  Brumfield is Thornton's oldest daughter by his first wife, Melissa Parish.  Sources say that Thornton and Brumfield have not spoken to each other for years.

Brumfield purportedly told investigators that the 1-year-old female child, Olivia Garcia, Brumfield's godchild, had fallen out of a playpen and injured her head.  According to Brumfield's statement, Olivia had been on top of the playpen when she startled the child by calling out her name.  The child fell 28 inches—afterward, Brumfield said in her statement, Olivia's tongue was bleeding, which Brumfield said she cleaned with a paper towel.  She said that she then played with the child, painted her toenails, fed her fruit snacks and bananas, and that Olivia had seemed happy.  She told police that she then laid Olivia onto a sofa next to her and fell asleep.

Later, she claimed that she had been awakened by a telephone call.  When she went to return Olivia to her playpen, she noticed that her body was limp when she picked her up.  Police sources indicated that the 911 call for help was made some two and a half hours after the child had purportedly fallen.  The police, however, were not buying her account of what had happened.

"It might have been an accident," a police spokesperson said.  "But she had an obligation to get that child [some] care.  For two and a half hours she did not care for that child."

The autopsy on the little girl indicated that she had suffered a fractured skull and had brain injury due to blunt trauma.  Detectives said that Brumfield's account of what happened was not consistent with the child's injuries.

Brumfield's mother, Melissa Parish, told media sources that her daughter was a close friend of the child's mother, and could not have harmed the child and should not have been arrested.

"It's a very tragic situation," Parish said.  "She loved [Olivia] so much and [her death] just crushed her, just devastated her.  She was Olivia's godmother and the mother's best friend.  It's just a horrible situation and it's being made worse…exploding even more just because of who my ex-husband is."

Billy Bob's publicist, Arnold Robinson, explained to CNN that Thornton was estranged from his daughter and has not had any contact with her for a considerable time.  Robinson provided a written statement to the media which said:  "When informed about this situation, he [Thornton] commented that, 'Any time a baby's life is lost is an unimaginable tragedy and my heart goes out to the baby's family and loved ones.'"

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Photo Credits: Associated Press 

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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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19 Years to Life for Phil Spector in Murder of Actress Lana Clarkson

May 29, 2009

Music legend Phil Spector was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison for the second-degree murder conviction of actress Lana Clarkson, who prosecutors alleged that Spector shot through the mouth at his home in 2003.  The 69-year-old Spector sat almost emotionless as Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler meted out a sentence of 15 years to life for the murder, and added four more years for his use of a gun in the slaying.  Fidler also ordered Spector to pay $16,811 in expenses for Clarkson's funeral, and an additional $9,740 to a state restitution fund for victims of crime.  Spector was escorted quickly out of the courtroom after his attorney, Doron Weinberg, requested that he be transferred out of the county jail system and immediately into the state prison system.
 
"He's doing fairly well," Weinberg said.  "He's adjusting to the circumstances and settling down to wait out an appeal with high hopes.  He feels he will win the appeal."

According to Weinberg, much of Spector's appeal will focus on the testimony of five women who claimed that he had threatened them with a gun, and will claim that Fidler was in error by allowing the testimony.  If his appeals fail, the 19-year sentence will likely amount to a life sentence due to the 69-year-old's ill health.

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Photo Credit: Associated Press

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