B.B. King battle heads to court

Just days after blues legend B.B. King was laid to rest, a battle over his estate is moving from the headlines to the courthouse in Las Vegas.

Attorneys for King’s designated executor, LaVerne Toney, have filed documents in a Nevada court to fend off allegations that King family members were kept away in his dying days, that he was mistreated medically and that his money was siphoned off before he died May 14 at his Las Vegas home at age 89.

Among King’s 11 surviving adult children, Karen Williams and Patty King have been most outspoken about the music icon’s care in his final days. Through their attorney, they accused Toney and B.B. King’s personal assistant, Myron Johnson, of poisoning him to hasten his death.

Toney and Johnson dismissed the claims as ridiculous, defamatory and libelous. But the allegation prompted an autopsy by the Clark County coroner; results of toxicology tests are expected in several weeks.