David Carradine Death Photo Has Family Members Outraged

EXCLUSIVE: David Carradine Death Photo, Genitalia Missing

A Thai tabloid newspaper has published a photo of actor David Carradine's body where he was found hanging in a closet, leading the Hollywood star's family to announce they'll sue any U.S. publication that does likewise.

Carradine was in Bangkok to shoot his latest movie, Stretch, and had been known to join the film crew for dinner. The crew noticed his absence when going out to dinner on June 3, but assumed he was simply taking the night off. They found him dead on June 4th.

The forensic photo was censored in part, but it shows Carradine with his hands tied in front of him, hanging from a closet support bar with half of his naked body. Reports indicate the colour of the body would indicate the actor had been dead for some time.

According to the tabloid, "what this photo does not show is that part of Carradine's genitalia is missing - it was cut out." Thai police noted, "Under these circumstances we cannot be sure that he committed suicide but he may have died from masturbation."

Speculation by Thai police is that Carradine died in an auto-erotic asphyxiation accident, however, the family of David thinks his death is suspicious. They announced they would hire a private forensics expert and has formally filed a report with the FBI in the hopes the agency will investigate the U.S. actor's mysterious death in Bangkok. Carradine's body is on its way from Thailand to Los Angeles.

Police are still awaiting the results of laboratory tests which will take between three and four weeks to come through before they can make an official conclusion about the cause of death.

Carradine was in the Thai capital to shoot a film called "Stretch" when he was found dead in the wardrobe of his luxury hotel room last week. His body was repatriated on a United Airlines flight early Saturday.

Results of an autopsy in Thailand are not expected for at least three weeks. Carradine's family and friends say the actor would never have killed himself; he had several films to work on, recently bought a new car and was happy in his marriage. He was married five times, most recently in 2004, and was the father of two daughters.

[Do you want to see the picture?]