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Post by artemis on Jul 26, 2011 4:41:19 GMT -5
"JUST IN: Amy Winehouse’ coronoer suggests the singer “may have died a violent or unnatural death”!
Even though the cause of death was not disclosed after Amy Winehouse’s autopsy, the coroner’s orders suggests the singer may have “died a violent or unnatural death.”
A formal inquest has been opened to investigate her death.
An inquest into Amy Winehouse’s death has been opened and adjourned until October 26, a London coroner said Monday, as a lengthy investigation into the singer’s death begins in Britain.
Sharon Duff, a coroner at St Pancras Coroner’s Court in North London, said that a “Section 20″ postmortem had been carried out on the body of the 27-year old singer, who died Saturday, but Duff did not disclose any of its findings.
In British postmortem cases where a sudden death is deemed not suspicious and the Coroner believes that no inquest is necessary, he or she can order a Section 19 Post Mortem under the terms of the 1988 Coroner’s Act in Britain.
A Section 20 postmortem, as Winehouse had, however, implies that the Coroner believes “there is reasonable cause to suspect that a person has died a violent or unnatural death or in any other way which would require an inquest,” according to guidelines. It suggests that the authorities are mounting a more lengthy and serious investigation into the circumstances around Winehouse’s death, although the Coroner also reported that at the scene had been investigated by police and “determined non-suspicious.”
At a brief two-minute hearing on Monday, Duff told St Pancras Coroner’s Court:
“I bring before you the death of Amy Jade Winehouse aged 27, born on the 14th September 1983 in London. She was a divorced woman living in Camden Square NW1. She was certified dead at her home by a paramedic and a doctor on July 23. She was a singer songwriter at the time of her death and was identified by her family here at St Pancras this morning. A section 20 post mortem has been carried out and histology and toxicology taken to determine the cause of death. The scene was investigated by police and determined non-suspicious.”
Assistant Deputy Coroner Suzanne Greenaway also said: “I’m formally opening this inquest. I’m issuing interim certificates to allow Miss Winehouse’s family to make arrangements for the funeral.”
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Post by artemis on Jul 26, 2011 4:45:16 GMT -5
People reporting that suggests Amy Winehouse simply died in her sleep. At age 27:
The five-time Grammy winner last spoke to her security team at 10 a.m. Saturday, telling them she was going to sleep. Rigor mortis had set in by the time she was found, suggesting she had been dead for several hours. Sources tell Britain’s Sun newspaper that Winehouse, 27, had seen a doctor Friday night as part of a routine series of regular checkups, given her battle with addiction. The doctor saw nothing amiss. Winehouse had been strong enough that same night to play a drum kit in her bedroom – so loud that neighbors complained. Cause of death is not yet known; a toxicology report could take weeks to complete. A police source tells PEOPLE there was no paraphernalia or sign of drugs in Winehouse’s Camden home, which became the scene of makeshift memorials following news of the troubled singer’s death."
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Post by artemis on Jul 26, 2011 4:47:16 GMT -5
"What’s True About Amy Winehouse’s Death So Far
Here’s the latest that we know about the circumstances surrounding Amy’s death:
Amy saw a doctor within 24 hours of her death, who had given her a clean bill of health. The doctor claims that Amy had been in fragile health for the past few months, but he was pleased at her recent progress during his last visit.
Amy was found in bed by a bodyguard. Amy was said to be tired, and notified her bodyguard that she was going to go in a take a nap around 10 AM on Saturday morning. When the bodyguard went in some time later to check on her, he found her dead. Investigators claim, because of the condition of her body, she may have been dead for “hours.”
Ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil had the audacity to release a statement about Amy’s demise. Fielder-Civil, who some of you might consider to be the catalyst to spurn Amy’s gradual downfall, claims that he’s inconsolable. In a statement, Amy’s ex-husband says, upon notification that Amy had passed away, he “collapsed.” From prison, Blake said:
“I will never ever again feel the love I felt for her. Everybody who knew me and knew Amy knew the depth of our love. I can’t believe she’s dead.”
Upon a search of the home, there were no drugs present. Though reports claim that Amy had been buying drugs (specifically ketamine and ecstasy) the night before she died, sources state that she’d been home the entire twenty-four hours before, watching videos with her bodyguard/friend.
Story developing …"
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Post by artemis on Jul 27, 2011 4:23:41 GMT -5
Sounds familiar? Somebody who wanted to live suddenly changed its mind and commits suicide or what? Janis Jopin style...
"Amy Winehouse’s Dad Says She Was Sober And Happy
She was the happiest she has been for years. She was not depressed. She saw [her mom] Janis and [her boyfriend] Reg [Traviss] on Friday and was in good spirits. That night, she was in her room, playing drums and singing. As it was late, her security guard said to keep it quiet and she did. He heard her walking around for a while and when he went to check on her in the morning he thought she was asleep. He went back a few hours later, that was when he realized she was not breathing and called for help.”
“But knowing that she wasn’t depressed, knowing that she passed away happy — it makes us all feel better.”
“Three years ago, Amy conquered her drug dependency. The doctors said it was impossible, but she really did it. She was trying hard to deal with her drinking and had just completed three weeks of abstinence.”
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Post by artemis on Jul 27, 2011 4:26:19 GMT -5
"U.S. Olympic skier commits suicide in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Olympic silver medalist skier Jeret "Speedy" Peterson has committed suicide near Salt Lake City, days after his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving, police said on Tuesday.
Peterson, 29, was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Monday night, shortly after he called emergency dispatch to say he was going to kill himself, said Lieutenant Justin Hoyal, a spokesman for Unified Police of Greater Salt Lake.
He was a silver medalist in the men's freestyle aerials competition at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada.
Peterson's body was found beside his vehicle on a road just outside Salt Lake City, Hoyal said. Police said he left a suicide note, but they declined to reveal the contents of the message.
Peterson's death on Monday came three days after the Olympic athlete was arrested in Idaho on suspicion of misdemeanor drunken driving. He was released from the Blaine County Jail in Idaho after posting $500 bail.
He had been arrested after speeding in a Dodge Dakota pickup through Hailey on Friday, in south-central Idaho, at an estimated 70 miles per hour, which was over the local speed limit of 25 mph, police said.
He failed three field sobriety tests, including a walk and turn and a one-leg stand, according to a police report.
Peterson pleaded not guilty in paperwork filed by his attorney to the charge of driving under the influence and the speeding citation.
He was originally from Boise, Idaho, but most recently lived in the ski haven of Park City, Utah. He had not planned on competing during the 2012 season and was a full-time business student at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, according to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.
Peterson gained the nickname "Speedy" because coaches thought he resembled the cartoon character "Speed Racer" when wearing his helmet, the association said.
He invented his signature jump the "Hurricane," a five-twist and three-flip maneuver that landed him the silver medal in Vancouver.
"I know Speedy's friends and family were incredibly proud of his effort in Vancouver, and his achievements were an inspiration to people all over the world," U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said in a statement.
"The personal challenges Speedy has battled are familiar to all of us, and on behalf of the U.S. Olympic Committee, I'd like to offer my sympathy to Speedy's family and friends," Blackmun said.
Peterson's behavior at times got him in trouble with the law and sports officials. In 2006, he was sent home from the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, after a fight, according to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.
Peterson was found guilty in 2008 of public urination in Boise and in 2006 he pleaded guilty to theft by receiving stolen property, according to Idaho court records."
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Post by artemis on Jul 27, 2011 4:31:56 GMT -5
One of my guesses is that she refused to be the handler of DIONNE BROMFIELD, knowing whats going on behind the curtains, so she was offed in no time.
"Amy Winehouse's Last Gift to Fans: Dionne Bromfield
Amy Winehouse's final "performance" wasn't much of one. Two days before she was found dead, Winehouse walked out on stage at the iTunes Festival in London, danced around a little, resisted the microphone that was put in her face, and quickly left. It was, at the least, a better ending to her on-stage career than being booed off in Belgrade.
Winehouse's cameo was really intended to be a gesture and not a performance, though. She was there to draw attention to her so-called goddaughter, 15-year-old singer Dionne Bromfield. Little could she have foreseen just how much attention her appearance would draw. It ended up being a greater gift to Bromfield than Winehouse could have intended, with the world suddenly curious to see the doomed diva's last public moments.
If this was a torch-passing that was somewhat inadvertent in its finality, Bromfield was a far worthier recipient of Winehouse's largess than the term "15-year-old goddaughter" might unpromisingly suggest. Bromfield is an actual savant who's got the goods. She might just do something with that torch.
Don't judge Bromfield just by the video footage of her last hookup with Winehouse. She's fine there, performing the Shirelles' 1960 hit "Mama Said," which was her first single a couple of years ago (!), from her debut album of soul covers. It's a choice designed to show off the young teen singer's precocity.
But the focus of this footage is undeniably Winehouse. Why does she resist actually performing with Bromfield during what turned out to be her last minutes on-stage? Was it inability, or humility?
A combination of both, maybe; hard to know the answer to that for sure. But if you want confirmation that Winehouse's belief in Bromfield was well-placed, check out the recently released music video for "Yeah Right," the first single off the 15-year-old's second album, a collection o original material.
To be sure, the polished direction, choreography, and editing augment Bromfield's still-nascent performing skills. And it's hard to know whether the young singer would have arrived at that killer analog drum sound without the hovering influence of Auntie Amy. But she's got real presence, and damn if she doesn't sound like a pint-sized (or pint-ier sized) Winehouse, more by force of instinct than aping or affectation.
YouTube also has a six-minute sampler from Bromfield's album, which so far is available only as a British import (though the single is on American iTunes and Spotify). Regardless of how you feel about the adolescent pop stars clogging our shores, this is teen music you can get behind.
Bromfield came to Winehouse's attention because her mum was a friend of Amy's dad, Mitch. The "goddaughter" term being widely used is unofficial, as it turns out. But Winehouse certainly determined to become Bromfield's fairy godmother, as she signed the girl to the label she'd created, Lioness Records.
"Amy is really protective of me and that's a good thing because I am only 14," Bromfield said last year. "She is like a mother duck with me... We go shopping together and we love watching comedy programmes and she buys great presents. She has a heart of gold... Auntie Amy? She's Mother Teresa." Ah, if only.
Given a desire Winehouse had stated over the years to someday have children, it's somehow comforting to know that she did find an outlet for those maternal instincts. And we may be the indirect beneficiary, if Bromfield delivers on her promise. Even in death, we may owe Amy one.
To her credit, by the way, Bromfield doesn't try to come off as an old soul, even if the music she's appropriating is... old soul.
She has a crush on Justin Bieber, not Otis Redding. "I am totally in love with him," she said in a recent interview. "I used to like the Jonas Brothers, but only because I thought that they were good-looking, not because I actually liked their music. But I don't have a real boyfriend. Well, I suppose I will have to go out with someone sometime. How else am I going to have kids?"
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Post by artemis on Jul 28, 2011 3:58:33 GMT -5
"America singer Dan Peek, 60, found dead in Missouri home
Co-founder of folk rock group America and singer of hits such as A Horse with No Name Dan Peek has been found dead at his home in Missouri. He was 60 years old.
The cause of death is as yet unknown, however a post mortem examination is planned.
Peek co-founded America after meeting band members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell at London Central High School, a school for children with parents in the US Armed Services.
Bunnell released a statement upon hearing the news of his bandmate's death:
'It was a joyous time for the three of us, full of excitement and laughter. We created lasting music together and experienced a life that we could never have imagined.'
In a touching tribute to Dan's contribution to the band he said: 'Dan was an equal and integral part of that early history, and I have never forgotten the good times we spent making that music and learning about life together'
He offered condolences to Peek's family, adding: 'This news brings me great sadness. My sincere condolences go out to his wife, Catherine, and the entire Peek family. May Dan rest in peace, and his memory be cherished forever.'
America were an almost instant success following the release of their first album in 1971, incorporating tight three-part vocal harmonies into their contemporary folk rock sound.
Their first number one single A Horse With No Name remains one of their best known songs, though between 1971 and 1975 the band scored three platinum and three gold albums in addition to eight Top 40 hits.
Peek left America at the height of its success in 1975 after he became a born-again Christian. Disillusioned with recreational drug use, sex, and life on the road, he explained in an interview after the release of his memoir:
'I... was trying to walk the walk and was just unable to do it.'
Peek launched a solo career in 1979 with the album All Things Are Possible. The title track was nominated for a Grammy Award, and reached No.1 on the Contemporary Christian Music Chart.
His band members Beckley and Burrel sang harmonies for Peek's song Love Was Just Another World. It was the last time the three recorded together.
Peek enjoyed the final years of his life in a quiet semi retirement with his wife."
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Post by artemis on Jul 28, 2011 5:04:16 GMT -5
"Mystery over sudden death of Bobby Moore's son Dean at 43
The son of England football legend Bobby Moore has been found dead in his flat aged just 43 years old.
Dean Moore's body was found in his flat in Notting Hill, West London, yesterday lunch time after a relative became concerned for his welfare.
It is believed that he had a medical condition and may have died from natural causes.
There were no signs of wounds and police said they were investigating the death but there was no cause for concern, according to the Sun.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'We are treating the death as unexplained. There are no suspicious circumstances.'
A source close to the family said: 'Dean had a medical condition. It appears to be a tragic death at an early age from natural causes.'
He was the second child of the football champion and his first wife, Tina.
He also has an older sister, Roberta, 46. Both were last night said to be distraught.
In 1997 he took over the running of a pub opposite Chelsea FC's football grounds and online described himself as a 'habitual drinker'.
His father, who captained the England team to World Cup victory in 1966 and died of cancer in 1993, played for West Ham.
There was speculation when he took over the pub, the Chelsea Gate, that Dean had been the butt of an elaborate joke by the pub company who assigned him there as landlord, given the rivalry between the two teams.
Paramedics arrived at his Notting Hill house but were unable to revive him and a post mortem examination is due to take place.
He leaves behind a daughter.
Mr Moore had recently changed his status to single on his Facebook page."
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Post by artemis on Jul 29, 2011 3:47:15 GMT -5
Already common knowledge... Poor Tatum... Its more than whats in the book...
Drinks, drugs, and the day Tatum's dad made a pass at me
The actress Tatum O’Neal didn’t get on with her parents. This is not so very unusual. Not getting on with one’s parents is an occupational hazard of being born. But Tatum really didn’t get on with her parents.
In her previous memoir, A Paper Life, she described the horrors of her upbringing: the early childhood spent on a ramshackle ranch with her lost, alcoholic mother, who was unable to look after her own children, yet filled her house with a tribe of teenage runaways.
Her father, Ryan O’Neal, rescued Tatum and her brother, Griffin, from this feral existence and for Tatum there followed a few magical years - the filming of Paper Moon for which, aged nine, she became the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award and, more importantly for the neglected little girl, a feeling of belonging, of being her daddy’s girl.
The trouble was that there was a high price to pay for that special bond. The position came with the classic wild-child perks of being allowed to play with the grown-ups’ toys of drink and drugs. Then, when she was fifteen, Ryan fell in love with Farrah Fawcett and moved out, leaving Tatum and Griffin to keep house alone.
The upshot of all this was that there was a 20-year gap in Tatum’s relationship with her father. For a while her life seemed to stabilize, during her marriage to the tennis player, John McEnroe, with whom she had three children, Kevin, Sean and Emily. But then it fell apart in even more spectacular fashion with a bitter divorce in 1994 and years of drug and alcohol abuse.
The publication of Paper Life in 2004 was “supposed to symbolize the end of one life and the beginning of another.” But O’Neal writes sadly that in fact, publication wasn’t remotely healing, and in 2008 she was arrested for trying to buy crack cocaine. That near-relapse led to a epiphany. As she set about the painful process of picking herself up yet again, she realised that ‘It was time to deal with my biggest unresolved issue. My dad. And so I began a slow, careful attempt to reconcile with him.’
The attempt didn’t get off to an ideal start. For some reason, Tatum thought that Farrah Fawcett’s funeral would offer a perfect opportunity for her to reconnect with her dad. And so, with Ryan’s agreement, she attended the funeral.
It was in the receiving line afterwards that things started to go wrong: As she reached her father, he seized her, pulled her to him and said, ‘Hey baby, got a drink on you? Want to get out of here?’
‘Was it possible,’ she wondered, ‘that my own father didn’t recognize me?’ Indeed it was. It has to be said that Tatum takes being hit on by her father at her stepmother’s funeral remarkably well: ‘Circumstances aside, I was happy to see him.’ And as she considers how to rebuild their relationship, an idea occurs to her.
For most of us, undertaking a ‘slow, careful’ reconciliation with an estranged parent wouldn’t mean making a reality series about the process and selling it to the Oprah Winfrey Network, but this is the brilliant wheeze that strikes Tatum.
Ryan, oddly enough, has some reservations, but he agrees in the end and before you can say ‘misery memoir’, the cameras are rolling. The only annoying thing about the whole business is the fact that Ryan keeps coming out with his best lines when the cameras aren’t there.
Yet while she doesn’t manage to direct him into the kind of relationship she was hoping for, Tatum evidently judges that the process has been therapeutic: ‘Ryan cannot change the past,’ she concludes, ‘but in making a TV show about our reconnection, I believed he had the opportunity to give us the present and a future, and that would be the best gift a father could give his daughter.’
If all this sounds exasperatingly Hollywood, it is. O’Neal writes in the curious argot of the 12-step programme, a dialect in which her younger son’s fecklessness becomes ‘acting out’, and she has a conversation with her elder son that goes, ‘To know you is a gift and to say I’m your mother is the proudest thing I can say in my life. Good job, Kevin.’
Still, eccentric though it may seem to expose one’s most intimate moments to the curious gaze of viewers and readers, there remains the fact that O’Neal found the strength to turn her chaotic life around, and as we mourn the passing of Amy Winehouse, that is surely something to celebrate."
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Post by artemis on Jul 29, 2011 6:12:54 GMT -5
"Former Yankees pitcher Irabu dead in apparent suicide
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Major League Baseball pitcher Hideki Irabu, who started for the New York Yankees for three seasons in the late 1990s, was found dead at his Los Angeles-area home in an apparent suicide, the coroner's office said on Thursday.
Irabu, 42, one of the first players to join the major leagues from the Japanese leagues, was discovered at his home in Rancho Palos Verdes on Wednesday by a friend, said Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County.
"The case is being investigated as a suicide," Winter said, adding that an autopsy had yet to be performed. He declined to disclose any further details about the circumstances of Irabu's death.
The celebrity news website TMZ.com cited an unnamed law enforcement source as saying it appeared Irabu, who was famously disparaged for his weight by the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, had hanged himself.
Irabu pitched six seasons in the major leagues with mixed success, the first three as a starting pitcher with the New York Yankees from 1997 to 1999.
"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Hideki Irabu," the Yankees said in a statement.
"Every player that wears the pinstripes is forever a part of the Yankees family, and his death is felt throughout our organization. Our sympathies and support go out to his wife, Kyonsu, his two children, and all of his friends and loved ones."
The Yankees traded Irabu to the Montreal Expos in 2000 and he spent his final season in 2002 with the Texas Rangers, who switched him to the closer's role. He compiled a career record of 34-35 with a career earned run average of 5.15, and also saved 16 games.
The hard-throwing right-hander was purchased by the San Diego Padres from the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League in January 1997. But he said he only wanted to pitch Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, and the Padres eventually shipped him as part of a trade in May 1997.
The Yankees signed him to a $12.8 million, four-year contract, and after a brief stint in the minors put him into their starting rotation.
Irabu was best remembered for incurring the wrath of Steinbrenner after a spring training game in 1999 following his best big league season, in which he posted a 13-9 record.
The volatile Yankees owner, who had criticized the beefy Irabu for being overweight, became enraged after the pitcher failed to cover first base on a ground ball during the exhibition game and called him a "fat ... toad."
In 2009, Irabu came out of retirement and joined the Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden Baseball League. He posted a 5-3 record in 10 starts, with an ERA of 3.58 and said he intended to return to the Japanese professional leagues.
He was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving on May 17, 2010, in Redondo Beach, California.
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Post by artemis on Jul 30, 2011 7:07:43 GMT -5
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Post by artemis on Jul 30, 2011 8:56:31 GMT -5
"'Inside Scientology' Author: 'They Have the Goods on Everybody'
Scientology operates more as a business than as a church, relying on techniques perfected by car salesmen to attract new members and celebrities to its rolls.
That's just one of the takeaways from Janet Reitman’s controversial book about the world’s most controversial and secretive religion. “Inside Scientology” chronicles L. Ron Hubbard’s creation of Scientology six decades ago and traces its development into the faith of choice for movie stars such as John Travolta and Tom Cruise.
Also read: Paul Haggis' Break With Scientology Over Gay Rights
In an interview with TheWrap, Reitman, a Rolling Stone contributing editor, addressed blackmail rumors and talked about why Kabbalah may represent a bigger threat to it than any “South Park” parody.
“They have the goods on everybody,” she said regarding blackmail rumors. “You are constantly being asked to write up your transgressions, maybe even your unspoken transgressions.”
Also read: Star-Studded Scientology: 10 Hollywood Celebrity Church Members (Slideshow)
Consequently, she said, “They know everything about you.”
Is Scientology still a big religion in celebrity circles?
I totally think that celebrity Scientologists are hesitant to be public about it these days, but I don’t think they’ve ever had as many celebrities as people think. There are really very few. Cruise is a big celebrity. Travolta is a long-time celebrity. Jenna Elfman had a TV show, but most of these people aren’t huge celebrities.
Kabbalah has gotten the superstars. Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Madonna -- those are big stars.
How effective has Cruise been as the public face of Scientology?
I don’t believe he’s been an effective face in terms of getting new members, but he’s been very effective in terms of getting the existing members excited.
There was a specific strategy in place to make Cruise into the model Scientologist. It was a promotional strategy and it’s been good and bad.
Existing members are not necessarily aware, of how the church is perceived. They are told they should not read newspapers, they would not have watched the “South Park” episode that makes fun of them, and they would not have read the magazine article that became the basis for my book. So from their viewpoint, Cruise’s behavior would be perceived completely differently than what we see. It would have made them really excited to see him jumping on Oprah’s couch.
There are all these rumors that celebrities like Cruise remain Scientologists because the church knows all their secrets and they fear blackmail. Any truth to that?
I didn’t go into that too much in my book, but it seems obvious. They have the goods on everybody. A great part of the Scientology experience is the confession that happens in the auditing experience . You are constantly being asked to write up your transgressions, maybe even your unspoken transgressions.
They know everything about you."
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Post by lucy on Aug 1, 2011 19:13:09 GMT -5
I have a suspicion, and this is just one of those things I am sensing due to the strange report from the coroner....I'm just wondering if this was just a staged death? Perhaps due to the fact that her career hasn't been making much money as of lately, but more making of notororiety.
Where some of those "untimely deaths" of people aged "27", had a definitive cause of death...this one comes under the strangeness similar to Jim Morrison, who died a bit over 40 years to the month, he supposedly died July 3, 1971.
They carried a body out on a stretcher in a bag...but it could have been someone else...or even a dummy in it.
I don't know much about her character but I just have to wonder, fake a death to make more money....much like the suspicious death of Michael Jackson, some rumors that it wasn't him in that ambulance.
Something to consider...and nothing would surprise me.
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Post by artemis on Aug 2, 2011 2:47:31 GMT -5
As u know, the last FICHAEL FACKSON staged his death, so, exactly, no wonder at all.
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Post by goro on Aug 2, 2011 9:15:27 GMT -5
Re: the staging -- always possible!
Think of it this way, they release "collections" of her works posthumously, she suddenly gets a huge spike in earnings - collects through a holding corporation that might have been set up years ago -- and retires somewhere! Without the beehive fake hair and without flashing her tattoos every five minutes she would blend in with the crowd.
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