6/23/2012 1:00 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Rodney King's Fiancee
Not Invited to Funeral

Exclusive
0622_rodney_king_fianceeRodney King's fiancée Cynthia Kelley is not invited to his funeral services -- King family sources tell TMZ.

According to sources, the services will be held next Saturday in Hollywood -- but the family hasn't contacted Cynthia since the day after Rodney died ... and doesn't plan to.

We're told Cynthia hasn't made any efforts to make arrangements for Rodney -- so the family doesn't feel the need to reach out.

We're told the family is also still skeptical about Cynthia's story -- that she heard Rodney banging on the window around 5 AM Sunday and then heard him fall in the pool.

The family doesn't believe Rodney drowned on his own because -- as one source put it -- Rodney was always a great swimmer.

Some family members don't have any hard feelings toward Cynthia -- but we're told many don't want to speak to her until an official cause of death has been released.

Our law enforcement sources say Rodney's death is still being investigated as an accident, and there are no signs of foul play. Attempts to reach Cynthia were unsuccessful.
6/19/2012 3:35 PM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Rodney King Death
The 911 Call

Exclusive
061912_rodney_911_audio_launch
TMZ has obtained the emotional 911 call placed by Rodney King's fiancee moments after she discovered his body at the bottom of his pool in Rialto, CA Sunday.

When asked to identify the body, his fiancee Cynthia Kelley tells the operator, "He's Rodney King. The guy that got beat by the police."

The operator asks if Kelley can go in and get King's body -- Kelley tearfully replies she can't swim. Kelley says she tried to rescue King with objects surrounding the pool -- including a shovel -- but he wasn't moving.

TMZ broke the story, Kelley told cops she heard King banging on the window around 5AM, then heard him fall in the pool. She also said he had been drinking and smoking weed soon before his death.

Right now, King's death is still being investigated as an accident -- but King's friends believe foul play was involved.

0619_rodney_king_remembering_footer
6/19/2012 1:27 PM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Rodney King
Wanted to Dump Fiancée
Before Death

Exclusive
0619_rodney_king_wife
Rodney King
's closest friend tells TMZ ... he's asked cops to take a closer look at King's fiancée -- because their relationship was volatile to the point King wanted to break up with her.

Damon Feldman -- who worked with King on the celebrity boxing circuit and has known him for years -- tells us King complained to him in recent weeks that his relationship with fiancée Cynthia Kelley was out of control and he needed to get away from her.

Feldman was one of the friends who called police after King's death and said he didn't believe Kelley's story.

Feldman's got a bad feeling about Kelley's explanation of King's death -- and he thinks police should take a close look at her relationship with King.

As we reported, Kelley told cops she heard Rodney banging on the window around 5 AM Sunday and then heard him fall in the pool. Cops insist they have no reason to doubt what she said.

Calls to Kelley weren't returned.
6/18/2012 4:32 PM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Rodney King Death
Cops Believe Fiancee

Exclusive
0618_rodney_king_Cynthia_Kelley_tmzPolice do NOT believe Rodney King's fiancee is hiding information about his death.

Law enforcement sources at the Rialto PD tell TMZ ... they've concluded Cynthia Kelley has been "cooperative and forthright" in her account of the events leading up to Rodney King's death.

As TMZ reported, several of King's friends tell us Kelley changed her story several times -- that she heard Rodney banging on the window at around 5 AM Sunday and then heard him fall in the pool.  The 2 friends spoke with cops, expressing doubt about her story.

Our law enforcement sources say they have no reason to question Kelley's honesty.  As one law enforcement source said, "People in the neighborhood are just speculating."

Our sources say as of now, this is still being investigated as an accidental death with no foul play.  There are no suspects or people of interest.
6/18/2012 2:38 PM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Rodney King
Weed Plants, Pitchfork
Confiscated from Home

Breaking News
0618_rodney_king_death_scene_launchCops have confiscated weed plants and a pitchfork from Rodney King's home as evidence in the death investigation.

Cops are also looking into reports that Rodney was crying uncontrollably shortly before his next-door neighbor heard a splash.

Rodney's fiancee reportedly told police she didn't try to pull Rodney from the pool because she's a poor swimmer.

Meanwhile, the coroner has completed the autopsy on King's body ... but will not announce an official cause of death until additional toxicology tests and tissue studies have been performed.

The results usually take between 4 to 6 weeks.

A rep for the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department tells us, "There will be no final ruling as to the cause and manner of death until the requested test results have been received and reviewed in context with the autopsy findings."

TMZ broke the story ... King's fiancee discovered his body at the bottom of the pool at the couple's home in Rialto, CA on Sunday morning.

King's fiancee insists Rodney had been drinking and smoking pot in the hours before his death -- and believes his death was accidental. However, people close to Rodney are concerned she's not telling the whole story.

Stay tuned ...

0617_rodney_king_getty_remembering_AP
6/18/2012 1:00 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Rodney King
Friends Are Not Buying
Fiancee's Death Story

Exclusive
0617_rodney_king_tmzTwo close friends of Rodney King think his fiancée isn't telling the truth about what happened leading up to his death ... and they've voiced their suspicions to cops, TMZ has learned. 

As TMZ first reported, King's fiancee, Cynthia Kelley, says she was awakened by the sound of King banging on the window of their home just after 5:00 AM on Sunday ... and then heard him fall in the pool. 

But sources close to King tell TMZ they heard Kelley tell the story several times to friends ... only the story changed a little bit each time and it seemed to them that she was lying about something.

We're told two of Kelley's friends who spoke with her in the hours following King's death have gone to police and spoke to a detective. Our source says the detective took down their story and their information and said he would be in touch. 

Rialto PD say so far they have discovered no signs of foul play, but they are conducting a drowning investigation and will perform an autopsy at some point.
6/17/2012 7:43 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Rodney King
Dead at 47

Exclusive
Rodney King found dead.UPDATE 9:27 AM PT -- According to our sources, King's fiancée is telling friends King had been drinking and smoked weed in the hours before his death.

0314_divider_graphic
Rodney King -- the man who was at the center of the infamous Los Angeles riots -- was found dead this morning in Rialito, CA. He was 47.

According to our sources, King's fiancée found him dead at the bottom of the pool (see photo of the pool below, taken today).

0617_rodney_king_pool_ap
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they responded to a call at 5:25 AM PT. We're told they physically removed King from the pool and attempted CPR.

Our sources say he was pronounced dead at 6:11 AM.

Law enforcement sources say Rialto PD will open a drowning investigation, but so far there are no signs of foul play.



Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck released a statement today saying, "Rodney King has a unique spot in both the history of Los Angeles and the LAPD. What happened on that cool March night over two decades ago forever changed me and the organization I love. His legacy should not be the struggles and troubles of his personal life but the immensely positive change his existence wrought on this City and its Police Department."

King became famous in 1991 when he was the victim of police brutality at the hands of the LAPD. The officers involved in the incident were acquitted the following year and the announcement of the verdict led to the Los Angeles riots. 

TMZ spoke with King about two months ago, where he seemed upbeat and introspective. 

042312_rodney_still

0617_rodney_king_getty_remembering_AP
6/17/2012 9:27 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Rodney King
Drinking, Smoking Weed
Before Drowning

Exclusive
0617_getty_rodney_kingRodney King's fiancée is telling friends Rodney had been drinking all day Saturday ... and had smoked weed in the hours leading up to his death ... sources close to King tell TMZ. 

According to our sources, King's fiancée, Cynthia Kelley, is telling friends King was at the house all day drinking, and he smoked marijuana at some point, before she went to bed at 2:00 AM. 

We're told Kelley says she next saw King at around 5:00 AM when she was awoken by him screaming in the backyard. Our sources say Kelley found King naked, banging on the glass, and she called out to him, "What's wrong, Rodney?"

Kelley is telling friends she then went to grab her phone when she heard a big splash. She then went to the backyard and discovered him in the bottom of the pool and called police.

Paramedics attempted to revive King, but were unsuccessful.
6/17/2012 10:05 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Rodney King
He Was In Good Spirits
Before he Died

Exclusive
0617_rodney_king_getty_tmzRodney King sounded upbeat and excited about an upcoming celebrity boxing match, this according to a friend who spoke to him just hours before his death.

Damon Feldman -- who worked with King on the boxing circuit and has known him for several years -- tells TMZ he spoke to King at 4:00 PM and they discussed his future in boxing.

Feldman says Rodney was excited about his next boxing match -- a fight with Jose Canseco -- that was to take place in August. A press conference had been scheduled for June 29 to announce the battle.

Feldman tells TMZ that Rodney was thrilled to be working again and looking forward to getting back in the ring. 

King died early this morning at his home in Rialto, CA. He was 47.

0617_rodney_king_getty_remembering_AP
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