The man famous for taking a beating and igniting the spark of racial tension and the L.A. Riots 20 years ago is dead at 47. Rodney King was found dead in his home on Sunday, and an autopsy is scheduled for Monday. Police found King in a swimming pool, after his fiance made a call to 911.
After recovering his body from the the pool, authorities released a statement that it didn’t seem there was any foul play. King’s friends, however, seem to think that his fiance, Cynthia Kelley, isn’t divulging everything there is to know about what has been considered an accident. According to King’s friends, her story has changed as she has repeated it to several of them. The official report to police is that King was banging on the bedroom window of their home around 5 a.m., then she heard him fall into the pool. A toxicology report has been ordered as part of the autopsy and ongoing investigation.
It does seem odd that if she heard him around 5 a.m., and then heard him fall into the pool, she’d check out the situation. Perhaps she thought he was messing around, or she was irritated and ignoring him because he was out all night. Who knows? It just seems that tragedy followed this guy like a black cloud. Or liked to show its teeth every 20 years.
Listening to King speak about the riots, it’s obvious that he possessed such incredible insight into the root of the problem. Condolences to friends and family of this cultural icon.
