Las Vegas police have launched a homicide inquiry into the death of B.B. King, a coroner’s office said on Monday, after daughters of the blues guitar legend reportedly accused his aides of poisoning him.
King died aged 89 on May 14 in Las Vegas, where he lived.
Two of his daughters — Karen Williams and Patty King — have said he was poisoned by his business manager, Laverne Toney, and his personal assistant, an entertainment news Web site reported.
“I believe my father was poisoned and that he was administrated [sic] foreign substances to induce his premature death,” the daughters wrote in separate, but identical, affidavits, E Online said.
“[I] request a formal investigation into this matter,” the court documents reportedly said.
Despite his legendary musical status, King’s final days were clouded by an apparent dispute between his family and manager over his care.
Toney, who is the executor of King’s estate, shrugged off the daughters’ charge.
“They have been making allegations all along. What is new?” Toney said, E Online reported.
An attorney for King’s estate dismissed the daughters’ accusations as “ridiculous.”
“I hope they have a factual basis that they can demonstrate for their defamatory and libelous allegations,” Brent Bryson said in a statement, the entertainment site reported.
Earlier, the Las Vegas coroner confirmed the homicide investigation and said that King’s remains would undergo an autopsy.
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