Fan Fare

Publishing David Carradine photo. Too much information?

Police in Thailand are working to solve the mystery of actor David Carradine’s death last week in a Bangkok hotel, and they have said not to expect any answers for a month.

His family, however, is ready to settle at least one question: whether the media should publish photos said to be the actor’s body, discovered naked and hanging in his Bangkok hotel room on June 4. 

Carradine’s death has sparked intense media speculation about how he died (Click here for that story). Theories have ranged from suicide to murder to accidental autoerotic asphyxiation. All are speculative, none are confirmed.

When a Thai newspaper, Thai Rath, which is known for lively coverage of crime and celebrities, published grainy photos on Saturday that it claimed showed Carradine’s hanging body, an attorney for the actor’s brother, Keith Carradine, said the family will take legal action against people or media outlets that publish the photos.

“The family wants it understood that … any persons, publications or media outlets will be fully prosecuted for invasion of privacy and causing severe emotional distress if the photos are published,” said the statement from attorney Mark Geragos.

Thai police have declined to confirm the authenticity of the photos. (Click here for that story). They did say media were not present at the crime scene and the picture was not leaked by them. Thai Rath did not give a source for the photograph or show the face. We here on the Fan Fare blog have seen it online, and at best it appears highly suspect.

The events bring to mind the leaked police photo of Rihanna after she was allegedly attacked by singer Chris Brown back in February. The photo caused a stir and was not published by some media outlets but was published by others. A key difference was that it was said to be a police photograph, which was later substantiated, and it was clearly Rihanna.