Actor David Carradine did not commit suicide, says official

Los Angeles, June 12: An autopsy conducted in the US has determined that actor David Carradine did not commit suicide, forensic pathologist Michael Biden said on Thursday. The "Kill Bill" star, 72, was found dead in his Bangkok hotel room last week and initial reports indicated that he may have died as the result of a sexual practice known as auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Carradine`s family asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to probe the case after receiving contradictory reports from Bangkok police on the possible causes of the former Kung-Fu star`s death. At first Thai police said he had committed suicide. Then, after an autopsy, forensic experts at Chulalongkorn Hospital concluded Carradine had died of suffocation. Well-known Thai forensics expert Porntip Rojanasunan said the actor might have died from "auto-erotic asphyxiation". Police said the actor was found hanging in a closet with a rope around his neck and genitals and his hands bound. Initial reports supported the suicide theory as Carradine was reportedly under financial pressure, but his family strongly rejected such notions. In a brief statement to the press, Biden, the former chief medical examiner for New York City, also ruled out suicide as a cause of death. But he said that more information was needed from Thai authorities before reaching a final determination of how Carradine died. Baden conducted the autopsy in California after the body arrived from Thailand earlier in the week. IANS