The daughters of the legendary blues musician, B.B. King, who died on May 14, 2015, publicly stated that they believe their father was poisoned. In a report from the Associated Press and published on Yahoo News, Karen Williams and Patty King accused their father's closest aides of the crime, saying that they not only murdered their father but also stole from him.
"I believe my father was poisoned and that he was administered foreign substances," said Patty in a press statement with their lawyer, Larissa Drohobyczer, by their side. The two daughters are pointing to LaVerne Toney and Myron Johnson, their father's business manager and personal assistant, respectively, as the culprits. They believe that Toney hastened B.B. King's death, thus murdering him, with Johnson as an accomplice.
Before their father died, Karen sought a Las Vegas judge's help so that she can take over as his guardian. However, her request was denied by the court. She also lodged other allegations against Toney, saying that her father's manager actively prevented his friends from visiting him. Toney also reportedly enlisted her own family members into the payroll. A large sum of money also allegedly disappeared from her father's bank account, alluding that Toney may have stolen this. Another daughter, Rita Washington, voiced out her support for her sisters.
"The family is sticking together to oust Ms. Toney based on her illegal conduct, conflicts of interest and self-dealing," said the lawyer of the sisters in the AP report. They also presented an affidavit from Patty, who saw Johnson give her father drops of an unknown substance for many months during the times she lived at King's home.
Last Sunday, the Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg conducted an autopsy of King's body, but he advised the press that the test results will still be made available in eight weeks. However, he issued a statement saying that "there was no immediate evidence supporting the murder allegations," as reported by AP.
The police in Las Vegas have also stated that there was no investigation of homicide into B.B. King's case, and the accused have not made any comment about it. However, Toney, who has been under King's employ for 39 years and also holds the power-of-attorney over his estate, doesn't seem surprised by the allegations. Toney is also the executor of B.B. King's estate, which amounts to "tens of millions of dollars," according to The Guardian. Her lawyers said that the allegations have no factual basis.
When B.B. King died in his home, only Johnson was present. No other family members were around. His memorial service drew over 1,000 mourners including friends and family. The musician was later buried in his hometown in Mississippi. He was 89 years old.
