Mystery clouds Getty death
THE curious death of Andrew R Getty this week at his gated hillside mansion in Los Angeles has once again thrust one of America’s wealthiest and mosttroubled families into an unwanted spotlight.
Based on a preliminary analysis, the LA county coroner’s office affirmed that Getty, 47, an heir to the Getty oil fortune, died from what appeared to have been natural or accidental causes. Getty, a horror film buff who collected dinosaur fossils, was found in a hallway in his home on Tuesday after an unidentified woman called 911.
Police said an investigation was continuing and that no official answers would come soon. “It could be weeks,” officer Liliana Preciado said.
During an unspecified period before Getty’s death, police had responded to about 30 calls at his home, including some for reports of domestic violence, said coroner’s office spokesman Ed Winter.
According to court records,
His death adds to a chronicle of kidnapping, drugs and strange deaths
Getty had sought a restraining order on March 16 in a domestic violence case against a woman named Lanessa Grace DeJonge. A hearing in the case had been scheduled for April 6. Getty had sought a similar order against DeJonge last year that was later dismissed. A restraining order that was sought against Getty in 2002 by a different woman was also later dismissed.
Lawyer Eric Berliner, who represented Getty in the most recent filing, refused to discuss the case. DeJonge, a model, did not respond to a query. She has been questioned by the police regarding Getty’s death.
Adding an unusual twist to the matter, investigators found a man’s skeleton on overgrown property adjacent to Getty’s mansion. The discovery had no relationship to the Getty case, Winter said.
Getty’s death adds a new chapter to a lengthy chronicle of tragedy and eccentricity involving the Getty family — which includes kidnapping, drug addiction and strange deaths.
Getty was the grandson of J Paul Getty, who amassed hisfortune in the first half of the 20th century. — NYTimes.com