David Carradine death photos

As David Carradine's family awaited the arrival of his body from Thailand, they threatened to sue any media outlet that reprints images of the 72-year-old actor's death.

David Carradine's distraught family is outraged over a Thai newspaper's publication of explicit photos taken of the actor's body hanging naked in a hotel closet.

The grisly image of the "Kill Bill" star ran on the front page of the paper, and another outlet published an autopsy shot of his body at a morgue.

"The family is outraged about the release of these photos," said Mark Geragos, an attorney who represents Keith Carradine, the actor's brother.

In an interview with RadarOnline.com, Geragos also threatened to sue if the photos are published in the United States.

The shocking front-page picture shows Carradine with his hands tied in front of him, hanging from the support bar in a closet. Tattoos on the lower half of his nude body also are visible.

Carradine, 72, who also starred in the 1970s television series "Kung Fu," was found dead on Thursday.

Carradine had a history of engaging in autoerotic asphyxiation, a sexual practice that often involves tying a rope around the neck, friends said.

He was in Bangkok filming his latest movie, "Stretch."

The announcement was made after a Bangkok tabloid on Saturday published a purported photo of the actor's death scene. The family also asked the FBI to help investigate his death. Carradine's body was found in a Bangkok hotel room on Thursday.

TMZ is reporting that after examining a higher resolution photo of the body of David Carradine, fishnet stockings are seen on his body and a dark wig may have been worn on his head.

The photo, which was published this weekend in a Thai gossip magazine, shows Carradine hanging by a closet bar, hands tied above his head with his genitals also tied. Women’s red lingerie can also be seen on the bed.

I personally have not seen the pic (nor do I choose to) so I cannot verify this information.

I do know that Carradine’s family is extremely upset about the photo and has threatened legal action to anyone who publishes it. Which, good for them. I think it’s awful that everyone wants to see it.

The family has also asked the FBI for help in the investigation of his death.

Carradine’s brother Keith released the following statement: “The family wants it understood that, per attorney Mark Geragos, any persons, publications or media outlets will be fully prosecuted for invasion of privacy and causing severe emotional distress if the photos are published.”

Meanwhile, Carradine’s third ex-wife, Gail Jensen, has been flapping her gums to the media, saying that David like to spend days creating intricate bondage devices. She said, “David was pretty strange. He would like to get tied up. He would tie himself up and I would walk in and see him and say ‘Oh my God, David, you got to be kidding me, and I would walk out. I would leave him to his own devices.”

TheSmokingGun.com also published legal documents from Carradine’s 4th ex-wife, describing his “potentially deadly” sexual appetite.

Mark Geragos, the lawyer for Carradine's brother Keith, says the family got involved because of conflicting information about the actor's death. Relatives are hoping his body arrives in the USA by today.

Keith Carradine said in a statement that his family was "profoundly disturbed" by the publication "of photographs taken at the scene." The statement continued, "Any persons, publications or media outlets will be fully prosecuted for invasion of privacy and causing severe emotional distress if the photos are published."
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The family also wants famed forensic pathologist Michael Baden to perform a second autopsy to determine whether another person could have been involved. Results of an autopsy Friday in Thailand were not expected for three weeks, the Associated Press reported.

In one of his last performances, Carradine appears on Fox's Mental Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT.NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Billy Elliot The Musical" swept the top U.S. theater honors on Sunday, winning 10 Tony Awards for a Broadway season that defied a recession with record ticket sales. "Billy Elliot" is based on Oscar-nominated director Stephen Daldry's 2000 film about a ballet dancing schoolboy in a mining town in northern England. Elton John, who suggested the film be adapted for theater, wrote the music for the production.

Family upset over photos of Carradine's body

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The family of late actor David Carradine is "profoundly disturbed" by photos published in Thailand that are said to be of Carradine's naked body hanging in his Bangkok hotel room, according to family attorney Mark Geragos. Geragos said a statement from the actor's brother, Keith Carradine, shows that the family will take legal action against people or media outlets that publish the photos "for invasion of privacy and causing severe emotional distress."

David Carradine was found dead in his room at the Swissôtel Nai Lert Park Hotel on Wireless Road, near Sukhumvit, in central Bangkok, Thailand.

Police Lieutenant General Worapong Chewprecha, Commander of the Metropolitan Police, remarked that the closed circuit television installed within the hotel supported the theory that no other persons were involved with the death.

Carradine’s representative and family members told the press that they believed the death to be accidental and not a suicide.

A Thai publication Thai Rath has published a Crime Scene Photo recently.

RadarOnline.com described the image like this :

The shocking published photo shows Carradine with his hands tied in front of him, hanging from the support bar in a closet.

Discoloration of the skin on the lower extremities indicates he had been dead for hours before being found, according to people familiar with the situation.

According to the sources David Carradine was hung accidentally by his neck and other body parts. Natural assumption from this is that he was engaged in some sort of auto-erotic asphyxiation.

The family of the late actor David Carradine is outraged over the publication of Crime Scene Photo by Thai tabloid Thai rath.

The photo shows Carradine, 72, with his hands tied in front of him, hanging from the support bar in a closet. Tattoos on the lower half of his nude body can be seen. Discoloration of the skin on the lower extremities indicate he had been dead for hours before being found, according to experts.

The doctored image has also been posted on several blogs but a lawyer for the Carradine family blasted the publication of the photo, which is believed to have been leaked by police in Bangkok. And they threatened to sue any US publication for 'invasion of privacy and distress' if they reproduced the photo.

Attorney Mark Geragos, who represents David's brother Keith Carradine, said: "The family is outraged about the release of these photos. "I will legally go after any publication for invasion of privacy and emotional distress if the photos are run in the United States."



BANGKOK – Police are speculating that accidental suffocation, not suicide, may have caused the death of American cult actor David Carradine, whose body was found in a hotel closet in the Thai capital with a rope tied to his neck, wrist and genitals.

Celebrity blogs and social networking Web sites were abuzz with news of the death of Carradine — best known for the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu." The circumstances under which he died have led to speculation that the 72-year-old actor may have been engaged in a dangerous form of sex play known as auto-erotic asphyxiation.

The practice involves temporarily cutting off the supply of oxygen to the brain to heighten the effects of a sexual climax.

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. Police embassy representatives while preparations were being made for its repatriation to the United States, expected to be in the next few days. Under U.S. privacy laws, the embassy is not allowed to release further details without permission of the family of the deceased.

Dr. Nanthana Sirisap, director of Chulalongkorn Hospital's Autopsy Center, told reporters that the autopsy was conducted because of the "unusual circumstances surrounding Carradine's death," but did not elaborate.

Police Lt. Teerapop Luanseng had said Thursday that Carradine's body was found "naked, hanging in a closet," and police at that time suspected suicide. However, no suicide note has been found.

Carradine's friends and associates insisted he would not kill himself.

"All we can say is, we know David would never have committed suicide," said Tiffany Smith of Binder & Associates, his management company. "We're just waiting for them to finish the investigation and find out what really happened. He really appreciated everything life has to give ... and that's not something David would ever do to himself."

Pornthip Rojanasunand, director of Thailand's Central Institute of Forensic Science, said the circumstances suggested that Carradine may have died performing auto-erotic asphyxiation, which is said to result in a form of giddiness and euphoria — similar to alcohol or drug intoxication — that enhances the sexual experience.

"In some cases it can suggest murder, too. But sometimes when the victim is naked and in bondage, it can suggest that the victim is doing it to himself," said Pornthip, who is considered the country's top criminal forensics expert but who did not take part in the autopsy. "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 had flown to Thailand last week and began work on a film titled "Stretch" two days before his death, Smith said. He had several other projects lined up after the action film, which was being directed by Charles de Meaux.

Carradine was in good spirits when he left the U.S. for Thailand on May 29 to work on "Stretch," his manager Smith said by phone from Beverly Hills.

Monica Donati, a spokesman for the French film company MK2, which was making "Stretch," said in statement from Paris that the film crew in Bangkok was "clearly shocked" by Carradine's death but would finish shooting. Carradine only had three more days of filming left in Bangkok, she said.

"David was apparently very happy about this new role and about filming again," she said.

Hotel manager Giraudo described Carradine as "very much a person full of life" who chatted with the staff.

"He was a great piano player and played a few nights in the hotel lobby," he said, "He also played the flute and the guests really enjoyed it. I mentioned to him that I had seen (the movie) 'Crank' with my family and that was the last smile he gave me."

Carradine, a martial arts practitioner himself, was best known for the U.S. TV series "Kung Fu," which aired in 1972-75. He played Kwai Chang Caine, an orphan who was raised by Shaolin monks and fled China 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." Bill, the worldly father figure of a pack of crack assassins, was a shadowy presence in 2003's "Kill Bill — Vol. 1." In that film, one of Bill's former assassins (Uma Thurman) begins a vengeful rampage against her old associates, including Bill.