Nevada authorities have opened a murder investigation into last week's death of blues legend B.B. King. The probe comes after two of King's daughters accused two of King's closest aides of poisoning the legend for months. According to court documents, Patty King gave the following staement to police: "I believe my father was poisoned and that he was administered foreign substances. I believe my father was murdered." The two aides are King's longtime business manager LaVerne Toney and personal assistant Myron Johnson. According to her statements, Patty King witnessed Toney giving some kind of medication to King every night for months before his May 14th passing. Toney, who was granted power of attorney over King's estate years ago, never told the daughter what the medication was. Toney has declined repeated requests for comment.
While Nevada officials announced their investigation on Monday, it will likely take weeks for any developments to be revealed. That's because officials just got access to and conducted an autopsy over the weekend, and it will take six to eight weeks for results. Brent Bryson, an attorney for King's estate, called the daughters' allegations "ridiculous" and "extremely disrespectful," adding that three different doctors have determined that King was being properly cared for in his final weeks. The blues legend was hospitalized in April after suffering diabetes-related dehydration, and placed in hospice care following his release. Earlier this month, three of King's eleven surviving children tried unsuccessfully to remove Toney's power of attorney, claiming Toney had cut off the family's access to King in the weeks leading up to his death.
B.B. King will be laid to rest in his hometown of Indianola, Mississippi on May 30th.
