The recent death of musical great BB King is reportedly being investigated as a homicide, after two of his daughters claim that he died as a result of being poisoned by his business manager, LaVerne Toney and personal assistant, Myron Johnson. Karen Williams and Patty King (BB’s daughters) both gave separate affidavits in which they stated that they believe their father was murdered. Both claim that Toney and Johnson prevented family members from visiting the musician in his final days.
“I believe my father was poisoned and that he was administered foreign substances,” said both Williams and Patty King, in their separate but identical affidavits. “I believe my father was murdered.”
Toney worked for BB King for 39 years and had been granted power of attorney, as well as being the executor of King’s multimillion-dollar estate. Patty King claims she saw Johnson giving her father drops of an unknown substance in the days before his death. Johnson was the only person at King’s bedside when he passed away on May 14.
However, an attorney for King’s estate has hit back at such claims, saying they were ridiculous. “I hope they have a factual basis that they can demonstrate for their defamatory and libelous allegations,” said attorney Brett Bryson.
An autopsy was performed on Sunday but test results may take up to eight weeks to confirm the cause of death. Toney and Johnson have both declined to comment on the allegations.
The legendar yblues singer died at 89-year-old on May 14, in a Las Vegas hospice. More than a thousand fans joined together to mourn King’s passing, in a beautiful Las Vegas memorial last week. Processions and memorial services were also held in Memphis, Tennessee, and King’s home town of Indianola, Mississippi.
Although the coroner, John Fudenberg has said that autopsy results will take up to eight weeks to arrive, this will not affect King’s forthcoming burial in the Mississippi Delta.
“The family is sticking together,” said the King’s family lawyer, Larissa Drohobyczer. “…To oust Ms. Toney based on her illegal conduct, conflicts of interest and self-dealing.” She claims that Toney sped up King’s death by “misconduct, or by failing to properly attend to his medical needs.”
The argument is not without controversy, obviously, with attorney Brent Bryson calling the claim “ridiculous.” He notes that three doctors confirmed that king was cared for in the right manner. “This is extremely disrespectful to B.B. King,” Bryson said. “He did not want invasive medical procedures. He made the decision to return home for hospice care instead of staying in a hospital. These unfounded allegations have caused Mr. King to undergo an autopsy, which is exactly what he didn’t want.”