David Carradine's Family contemplating legal action against the leak of forensic photographs

Image of David Carradine as published by Thai Tabloid

BASED ON REPORTS FROM YAHOO and POSTCHRONICLE.COM  

   David Carradine’s family member are highly distressed with the leak of the forensic photographs of the actor after death.
Keith Carradine, the half brother of the dead actor has filed reports with the FBI that could lead to the agency’s involvement, said Mark Geragos, attorney for the “Kung Fu” actor’s half-brother.

The family might also seek an independent autopsy by famed forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden to determine whether another person could have been involved, Geragos said. Results of an autopsy performed Friday in Bangkok were not expected for at least three weeks.

A chambermaid found Carradine’s body Thursday at Bangkok’s Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel. Thai authorities said they have all but ruled out foul play, based on surveillance footage and interviews with hotel staff that indicate no one was in Carradine’s room before he died, said Col. Somprasong Yenthuam, who is heading the investigation.

A grainy photo published on the Saturday cover of the tabloid Thai Rath shows a naked body suspended from a clothes bar in a hotel closet, hands apparently bound together above the head and feet on the floor. The face is blacked out and other areas are obscured.

The tabloid did not indicate the source of the image, but Thai police said they believed it was a picture of Carradine’s body taken by a forensics team.

Keith Carradine said in a statement that the family was “profoundly disturbed by the release in Thailand of photographs taken at the scene of David Carradine’s death,” and threatened legal action against further distribution.

“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,” the statement read.

The actor’s family hopes the body will arrive in Los Angeles by Monday, Geragos said, but he did not give specifics.

Geragos said the family decided to intervene because of conflicting information about Carradine’s death and a lack of direct information from Thai authorities.

“All we really know is not much more than what the public knows, and that’s disturbing,” Geragos said.

Agents were checking with the FBI’s legal attache at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok to see if Thai authorities “are requesting or would welcome FBI assistance in this matter.” FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the agency generally only gets involved in death investigations overseas if a crime is suspected.

Investigators initially said Carradine’s body was found “naked, hanging in a closet,” causing them to suspect he had taken his own life. But his family, friends and representatives have said they doubt the 72-year-old actor would have killed himself.

Police later said the actor may have died from accidental suffocation or heart failure after revealing that he was found with a rope tied around his wrist, neck and genitals — leading to speculation that Carradine may have engaged in a dangerous form of sex play known as auto-erotic asphyxiation.

But Geragos said he expects the examination by the New York-based Baden, a celebrity among forensic pathologists who frequently consults on high-profile cases, will clear up many unanswered questions.

“It’s an amazing thing what a good pathologist can accomplish,” Geragos said.

Carradine flew to Thailand last week and began work on a film titled “Stretch” two days before his death. His friends and associates told CNN’s Larry King he had a happy marriage, recently bought a new car, and had several films lined up after he finished work in Bangkok.

A martial arts practitioner himself, Carradine was best known for the U.S. TV series “Kung Fu,” which aired from 1972-75. He played Kwai Chang Caine, an orphan who was raised by Shaolin monks and fled China for the American West 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.”

Funeral arrangements of David Carradine have not been announced.

David Carradine was found dead in Bangkok, News June 4 2009

Sad news for action movie buffs of all over world as David Carradine who acted in many top class action movies, which includes the epic ‘Kill Bill’ is dead.

 David Carradine was found dead, naked and hanging from a rope in the closet of his luxury Bangkok hotel room on Thursday, Thai police said.

Police said they were alerted to the death of the actor — who starred as the wandering monk in the long-running Kung Fu U.S. television series — on Thursday morning.

“He was found hanging by a rope in the room’s closet,” Lieutenant Colonel Pirom Jantrapirom of the Lumpini police station in Bangkok told Reuters.

He said Carradine’s body was naked when it was found and there were no signs of any other people in the room. The body has been transferred to a hospital for an autopsy.

 In all, he appeared in more than 100 feature films with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby.

But he was best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin priest traveling the 1800s American frontier West in the TV series “Kung Fu,” which aired in 1972-75.

He reprised the role in a mid-1980s TV movie and played Caine’s grandson in the 1990s syndicated series “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.”