Andrew Rork Getty, an heir to the billion-dollar Getty family oil fortune, was found dead in his Los Angeles home Tuesday, March 31, in the latest in a string of tragedies to hit the ill-starred family.
As authorities investigated the circumstances of his death, court papers have come to light in which Getty claimed his ex-girlfriend Lanessa DeJonge, who reportedly found Getty, 47, dead in his Hollywood Hills home, was "exploiting" his serious medical condition, which Getty declined to identify.
"A rise in my blood pressure places me in grave risk of substantial and irreparable injury or death," Getty said in a court filing obtained by the New York Daily News.
"Lanessa DeJonge is aware of my medical condition, and she has exploited this information to demand money and property from me, refusing to leave my house," he alleged in the filing.
Getty had filed the papers March 16 as he sought a restraining order against DeJonge.
DeJonge reportedly was the person who called 911, claiming that Getty had suffered a heart attack.
When police arrived at the Getty family compound, they found Getty dead.
Police officials said a complete investigation has been initiated because Getty, discovered in his bathroom, was surrounded by a significant amount of blood.
However, initial examination by police and medical examiners suggested Getty's death was linked to some kind of medical issue and not the result of a crime, LAPD Capt. William Hayes said.
"He had a whole plethora of medical issues," he said. "We believe it is a natural-caused death."
The Gettys, with a family fortune estimated at $5 billion, have had a turbulent and tragic history including kidnappings, mutilations, drug abuse and deaths.
In 1973, J. Paul Getty III - the grandson of family patriarch J. Paul Getty and a cousin of Andrew Getty - was kidnapped in Italy and held for ransom for more than five months.
The 16-year-old was released when the family paid a $2.8 million ransom after the kidnappers sent the young Getty's severed right ear to an Italian newspaper. He died in England in 1981 at age 54.
In that same year, another son of J. Paul Getty died, a suspected suicide, and in 1958 Getty lost yet another son to a brain tumor at the age of 12.
In San Francisco, Andrew Getty's parents, Gordon and Ann Getty, confirmed their son's death.
In a statement, they asked their privacy be respected during an "extremely difficult time."
J. Paul Getty, one of America's richest men, founded the Getty Oil Co. He was an avid art collector who established the trust that funds the J. Paul Getty Museum and several other institutions.
Photo: Prayitno Hadinata | Flickr
