Carrey to face trial over death of ex-girlfriend
HOLLYWOOD star Jim Carrey will face trial over the death of his ex-girlfriend after he was accused of supplying the drugs which killed her.
Carrey, 55, is being sued by the mother and estranged husband of Irish make-up artist Cathriona White, who Carrey dated for three years.
Miss White, 30, was found dead at her Los Angeles home in September 2015, days after she split with the comedy star.
A post-mortem examination found she died from an overdose of various prescription drugs and a coroner recorded her death as suicide.
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Her mother Brigid Sweetman and estranged husband Mark Burton launched a wrongful death lawsuit against Carrey, claiming he gave her the drugs she used to kill herself.
The trial has now been set for April next year after a judge declined a request by Carrey’s legal team to throw the case out.
The actor’s lawyer, Raymond Boucher, asked for the lawsuit to be scrapped on the basis that it is “predatory” and “malicious” during a hearing on Wednesday.
Mr Boucher said the wrongful death claims were too vague and that they would be outside the statute of limitations. Miss Sweetman and Mr Burton allege the fatal painkillers Ambien, Propranolol and Percocet, contained in prescription bottles that were found near Miss White’s body, were acquired by Carrey, using the phony name Arthur King.
The lawsuit alleges Carrey tried to “conceal and obfuscate his involvement and culpability in Miss White’s untimely and tragic death”.
A jury will decide on the claims at the end of the trial.
Judge Deirdre Hill set a trial date for April 26, 2018, estimating the case will last 20 days.
Mr Boucher, speaking outside Los Angeles Superior Court after the hearing, said: “Mr Carrey loved Miss White dearly and so obviously it will be a very painful process for him.”
The claims have led to a bitter war of words between Carrey and the relatives of Miss White, who dabbled in acting while working in Hollywood.
Carrey has called Miss Sweetman “angry and bitter” and has described the lawsuit as a “heartless attempt to exploit me or the woman I loved”.
Miss White was originally from the village of Cappawhite, in County Tipperary.
Carrey has starred in a string of blockbuster comedies, including Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask.