Autopsy to be performed on Carradine in LA

NEW YORK, June 9 (UPI) -- Former Chief Medical Examiner of New York City Michael Baden has agreed to perform a private autopsy on the body of actor David Carradine, who died in Thailand.

Police in Bangkok said the 72-year-old "Kung Fu" and "Kill Bill" actor was discovered dead, hanging naked in a hotel room closet last Thursday.

Although investigators initially announced they suspected suicide, they have since said they are also considering the possibility Carradine's death was the result of an autoerotic act gone wrong.

Members of the actor's family reportedly have said they think foul play could have been involved.

An autopsy was conducted on Carradine's body in Thailand, but the results have not yet been released.

The New York Daily News said Tuesday a second examination of the actor's remains is being planned in Los Angeles.

"Baden is one of the most experienced forensic pathologists in the world. If there's something suspicious, he'll find it," his friend Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky, chairman of the Department of Forensic Sciences at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told the Daily News.

"(Baden is) familiar with autoerotic asphyxiation," Kobilinsky added. "He'll perform a typical autopsy of the body … (and) a psychological autopsy, to get into the mind of the deceased."