B.B. King's daughters allege blues musician was poisoned
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Two daughters of blues legend B.B. King are claiming on Monday that he was poisoned by business manager LaVerne Toney and personal assistant Myron Johnson. The allegations were made by daughters Karen Williams and Patty King in affidavits provided by their lawyer to the Associated Press.
"I believe my father was poisoned and that he was administered foreign substances," Williams and King said in identically worded sections of the affidavits. "I believe my father was murdered."
Williams and King also allege that family members were prevented from visiting their father prior to his death. The lawyer for King's estate says the claims are ridiculous.
"I hope they have a factual basis that they can demonstrate for their defamatory and libelous allegations," lawyer Brent Bryson said in a statement to the Associated Press.
Bryson says that King was appropriately cared for by medical professionals up until his death on May 14 in Las Vegas.
An autopsy of B.B. King's body was carried out on Sunday by the Clark County, Nevada coroner's office. The coroner's office said on Twitter that it would be a minimum of six to eight weeks before results of the autopsy are finalised.
The Las Vegas Police department said that a potential homicide investigation into the death of the blues legend will depend on autopsy findings.
Sources
- "BB King's death to be investigated as homicide, Nevada coroner's office says" — ABC News (Australia), May 26, 2015
- "BB King: estate attorney dismisses claim that bluesman was poisoned" — The Guardian, May 26, 2015
- Drew Mackie. "Allegations B.B. King Was Poisoned Are Ridiculous, Says Attorney" — TIME, May 25, 2015