Rodney King, Center of LA Riots, Dead at 47; Fiancée Suspected of Lying
Rodney Glen King's untimely death has sparked a police probe into what may have been a drowning accident. Friends have reportedly begun questioning King's fiancée, Cynthia Kelley, and her statements about what exactly occurred on the morning that he died.
King, 47, was reportedly found unresponsive at the bottom of his swimming pool by Kelley, who called 911 at 5:25 a.m. on Sunday morning. Although police and paramedics responded immediately, they were unable to revive him and he was later pronounced dead.
"[Kelley] was inside the residence, had been sleeping and Mr. King had been carrying conversations with her from the rear patio poolside. She had heard him speaking to her. She got up to go outside to talk with him, at which time she found him at the bottom of the pool," Rialto Police Capt. Randy De Anda told ABC.
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Kelley told law enforcement that the father of three had been outside of his house most of the night in the hours leading up to his death and that she was awakened by the sound of King banging on a window of their home shortly after 5:00 a.m. on Sunday.
Two close friends of King, who spoke with Kelley just hours after his death, fear that she is not telling the truth about what occurred on Sunday night, according to TMZ.com.
Kelley reportedly told police that King had been drinking all day and smoking marijuana in the hours leading up to his death. The two suspicious friends claim that she has changed her story about the events of the evening several times though, which prompted them to voice their concerns to police, who have taken statements.
It is unclear which parts of the story that Kelley allegedly changed, but at this point, the Rialto Police Department says that there are currently no signs of foul play in King's death.
King's ex- fiancée Dawn Marie Jean recently spoke out about his death and described him as being "troubled" in the months leading up to his death.
"I'm in shock right now. This is all so fresh," Jean told Radaronline.com, adding "I just talked to him was about a month ago. He was obviously a little bit troubled."
Jean dated King for six years and planned to marry him before they broke up two years ago, and during a recent conversation she suspected that something was wrong.
"Rodney always tried to make it sound like everything was alright when we spoke. He only wanted to talk about the good things. But I could tell by his voice things weren't good," Jean said.
Police are conducting a drowning investigation and will soon perform an autopsy which will determine cause of death.
King became known around the world after being subject to police brutality in which he was savagely beaten by Los Angeles Police officers.
Although the horrific incident was captured on a bystander's video camera, three of four of the offending police officers were acquitted and a jury failed to reach a verdict in regards to the fourth police officer, which subsequently sparked the infamous 1992 Los Angeles riots.
King survived the horrendous attack and became famous for his attempts to diffuse racial tensions with his plea for peace.
"Can we all get along?" King was famously quoted.
