Carradine death may have been accidental

Police initially suspected suicide but now believe he may have died from accidental suffocation after finding a rope tied to his neck and genitals.

Celebrity blogs and social networking Web sites were abuzz with news of Carradine's death, which was one of the most popular topics Friday on Twitter, along with the Air France crash.

The circumstances of his death have set gossipmongers working overtime, speculating that the 72-year-old actor may have been engaged in a dangerous form of sex play known as auto-erotic asphyxiation.

The practice involves temporarily cutting off the supply of oxygen to the brain to heighten the effects of a sexual climax.

Carradine's body was discovered Thursday morning in his luxury suite by a chambermaid at Bangkok's Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel, said its general manager, Aurelio Giraudo. Police arrived shortly thereafter.

"When I arrived, I saw the dead body with a string of rope tied around his neck, also tied around his wrist," said Police Colonel Somprasong Yenthuam, Superintendent of Lumpini Police station, which is handling the case.

Another police officer, Lt. Gen. Worapong Chewprecha told reporters that Carradine was found with a rope tied around his genitals and another rope around his neck.

"The two ropes were tied together," he said. "It is unclear whether he committed suicide or not or he died of suffocation or heart failure."

Somprasong said there was no evidence there was anyone else in the room at the time of Carradine's death.

Police completed an autopsy on Carradine on Friday. But Somprasong said results would not be ready for at least three weeks because the cause of death was unclear. He called the time lag "normal."

Carradine's body was later taken from the hospital to an undisclosed location by U.S. Embassy representatives while preparations were being made for its repatriation to the United States, expected to be in the next few days. Under U.S. privacy laws, the embassy is not allowed to release further details without permission of the family of the deceased.

Dr. Nanthana Sirisap, director of Chulalongkorn Hospital's Autopsy Center, told reporters that the autopsy was conducted because of the "unusual circumstances surrounding Carradine's death," but did not elaborate.

Police Lt. Teerapop Luanseng had said Thursday that Carradine's body was found "naked, hanging in a closet," and police at that time suspected suicide. However, no suicide note has been found.

Carradine's friends and associates insisted he would never kill himself.

"All we can say is, we know David would never have committed suicide," said Tiffany Smith of Binder & Associates, his management company.

Pornthip Rojanasunand, director of Thailand's Central Institute of Forensic Science, said the circumstances suggested that Carradine may have died performing auto-erotic asphyxiation, which is said to result in a form of giddiness and euphoria that enhances the sexual experience.