Murder theory 'unbelievable'

Ongoing attempts by Hollywood star David Carradine's relatives to link his death to secret kung fu sects might have been intended to protect the late actor's name, a Thai official said yesterday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said Carradine's reputation could be hurt if an official investigation concluded he died of a sex game that went wrong.

"This is a big star. He is famous worldwide," the official said.

Carradine, 72, was found dead at a Bangkok hotel earlier this month. Reports suggest he might have accidentally killed himself during an attempted auto-erotic asphyxiation.

However, his family has lately suggested he might have been murdered for his investigation into deadly underground martial arts organisations.

His ex-wife Marina Anderson, has disputed the suggestion, telling the New York Post, "If he was involved in secret societies, it was a secret that even I didn't know about."

In divorce papers, Anderson claims Carradine regularly pestered her to take part in "deviant" sex games during their marriage.

In the documents, she cites her refusal to agree to his demands for "deviant sexual behaviour which was potentially deadly" as the reason for their split.

Carradine married Anderson, an actress, in the mid-1990s. They split up in 2001 after six years together.

Meanwhile, an informed source yesterday revealed the murder theory for Carradine's case sounded impossible.

"He stayed at a five-star hotel and a security guard looked after him until he entered his suite on the night of June 3. Keycard records showed no one else entered his room after that. It was the next morning that a maid went inside to do her job and found his body," the source said.

Carradine was in Bangkok to shoot a film.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported from Los Angeles, Los Angeles quoting Carradine's an ex-wife as revealing that the late actor liked to tie himself up and enjoyed his kinky moments.

Gail Jensen made the comments in an interview with radaronline.com just days after the actor, 72, was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room amid speculation that he hanged himself accidentally when a bizarre sexual practice known as autoerotic asphyxiation went fatally wrong.

"He had his kinky moments," Jensen said, though she insisted that she had never known him to indulge in the potentially deadly practice that ultimately killed him.

However she did say that she'd often discover her husband nearly naked and bound at the wrists.

"He told me it was for meditation because of all the pressure on his life and things, so he'd tie himself up and relax, and I mean, I didn't think it was a horrible thing, but to me, it was a little weird," she said.

Her comments came amid reports that a former New York City coroner would conduct an autopsy of Carradine's body in Los Angeles to ascertain the details of the death.