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?]

Debate

"Look, there was a period in my life when I had a single action Colt 45, loaded, in my desk drawer"

Did David Carradine kill himself, was he an accidental victim of his own auto erotic asphyxiation, or was he murdered?

I ask myself after reading these from iReport.com:

JonnyTepin // 48 minutes ago
Raiseya - I thought the same thing, but I suppose that isn't something on which CNN or any other news agency cares to speculate in public! But yeah... I thought it was rather odd to hang oneself NUDE... in the closet... hmm... I had a classmate that lost his little brother who accidentally hung himself from the bunk beds. Carridine had, after all, admitted in interviews that some days he'd...more
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Raiseya - I thought the same thing, but I suppose that isn't something on which CNN or any other news agency cares to speculate in public! But yeah... I thought it was rather odd to hang oneself NUDE... in the closet... hmm... I had a classmate that lost his little brother who accidentally hung himself from the bunk beds. Carridine had, after all, admitted in interviews that some days he'd hold a loaded pistol that he kept in his drawer and contemplate ending it all. Hard to say. But yeah, when they said he was naked, I thought to myself that if I was actually gonna commit suicide, I'd like to be found with my pants on.

I'm really not surprised CNN didn't bring up the possibility, especially after Anderson Cooper's "tea bagging" comment. I wonder just how Mr. Cooper got so knowledgeable about "tea bagging". Hmmm? Can you answer that for us, Triangle-Face?less
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Raiseya // 1 hour ago
I'm surprised no one has speculated about auto erotic asphyxiation. He's in the sex capitol of the world found in a closet. Many practioners are found this way!
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trendle02 // 1 hour ago
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By the way,

Here's the link with the info from the Bangkok Post, lest someone may think I made up the information.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/17906/kung-fu-star-carradine-dead
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trendle02 // 1 hour ago
Guys,

I am not quite to sure he commited suicide. If you read the account from the Bangkok Post, you will come to a different conclusion.
Lumpini police said the body of Carradine was found curled up inside the wardrobe with one end of a shoelace tied around his penis and the other end fastened around his neck.more
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Guys,
I am not quite to sure he commited suicide. If you read the account from the Bangkok Post, you will come to a different conclusion.
Lumpini police said the body of Carradine was found curled up inside the wardrobe with one end of a shoelace tied around his penis and the other end fastened around his neck.

Both of his hands were bound with a cord which was also tied around his neck, said an officer at the station who requested anonymity.
Mysteriously, a footprint found on the bed did not match the shoes worn by Carradine.

THEN, on CNN.com, now:

Binder said a producer of the movie, "Stretch," which A member of the emergency crew who was called to the hotel after a maid found Carradine told CNN that a yellow nylon rope was tied around the actor's neck and a black rope was around his genitals. The source asked not to be identified.

"I do not know if you want to call it accidental," Chuck Binder, Carradine's manager, told CNN's Larry King on Thursday. He said Carradine's career was on a roll and his life was on a resurgence.

Binder said a producer of the movie, "Stretch," which Carradine was to act in, called him from Thailand to tell him what was happening there.

"I do not want to get in the middle of this whole investigation, but this guy said to me for sure there was foul play," Binder said.

Actor Michael Madsen told King that the one thing Carradine's wife, Annie Bierman, wanted everyone to know is, "David was not suicidal."

Foul play? Really?

Suicide, sex gone wrong, or murder? You be the judge.

David Carradine Died By Suicide

(CNN) -- American actor David Carradine has been found dead, hanging by a nylon rope in a hotel room closet in Bangkok, Thailand, according to a Thai police official.

Carradine, who became famous in the 1970s when he starred as traveling Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine in the television series "Kung Fu," was 72.

The rope was believed to be from the hotel room curtains, Bangkok Police Lt. Col. Pirom Chanpirom said Thursday.

He said investigators found no sign of forced entry into Carradine's room.

An autopsy was being conducted at a Bangkok hospital, but no results will be available for another day, he said.

A Carradine family spokeswoman issued a short statement saying the family "is devastated by the news of David's passing."

"Circumstances surrounding his death are still unknown, and there will be no further comment until more information can be confirmed," the statement said.

"The family appreciates the many expressions of condolence, and asks for privacy at this time."

Police provided Carradine's family with information about their investigation, said Tiffany Smith, Carradine's personal co-manager.

Smith said she was "in complete shock" and that suggestions that Carradine took his own life are unbelievable.

"Knowing David, he would never commit suicide," and his death comes at a time when his "career is on a roll," she said.

Carradine was in Bangkok for filming of the movie "Stretch," being produced by a United Kingdom-based company, she said. He was the only American cast member.

Don't Miss
People: David Carradine found dead in hotel room
EW: David Carradine: A 'Renegade' life
Modern audiences may best know Carradine as "Bill" in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films. He earned a 2005 Golden Globe nomination for his role in the second movie in the two-part saga.

His career included more than 100 feature films, two dozen television movies and theater work, according to the Internet Movie Database.

"He was clearly an actor who followed his own path," said Leah Rozen, the movie critic for People magazine. (more here)

Actor David Carradine Found Dead

(CNN) -- American actor David Carradine has been found dead in a Bangkok, Thailand, hotel, according to his personal manager, Chuck Binder.

Binder said Thursday that the death is being investigated but could provide no other details.

Carradine's death was "shocking and sad. He was full of life, always wanting to work ... a great person," Binder told People magazine.

Carradine, who became famous in the 1970s when he starred in the television series "Kung Fu," was 72.

Modern audiences may best know him as "Bill" in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films. Share memories of David Carradine

His career included more than 100 feature films, two dozen television movies and theater work, according to the Internet Movie Database.