Las Vegas, NV — Karen Williams and Patty King, two daughters of Blues icon B.B. King, are accusing King’s two closest aides of poisoning him. They say that family members were prevented from visiting King while he was on his death bed, and that King’s business manager, LaVerne Toney, and his personal assistant, Myron Johnson, hastened their father’s death.
“[We] believe [our] father was poisoned and that he was administered foreign substances,” the two said in a joint statement released by their lawyer, Larissa Drohobyczer. “[We] believe [our] father was murdered.”
Las Vegas police homicide detectives are investigating the allegations, but have declined to provide details on the investigation. It is known, however, that test results will take up to eight weeks to obtain.
Meanwhile, King’s associates, Toney and Johnson, have both declined to comment. Toney, however, was quoted as saying, “They’ve been making allegations all along. What’s new?”
Toney, who worked for King for 39 years and had power-of-attorney over his affairs, is named in King’s will as executor of an estate. According to court documents filed by lawyers for some of King’s heirs, that estate could be worth into the tens of millions of dollars.
King, known for his contributions to Blues music, died May 14th after spending a brief time in hospice care at his home in Las Vegas. He was 89 years old. A public viewing of his body drew more than 1,000 fans and mourners, and more than 350 attended a weekend family-and-friends memorial.