BB King estate fight looms

JUST days after blues legend BB King was laid to rest near his birthplace in the Mississippi Delta, a battle over his estate is moving from the headlines to the courthouse in Las Vegas.
LAWYERS for King's designated executor, LaVerne Toney, have filed documents in a Nevada court to fend off allegations that King family members were kept away in his dying days, that he was mistreated medically and that his money was siphoned off before he died on May 14 at his Las Vegas home at age 89.
"We're asking the probate commissioner to approve (Toney) as executor and personal representative of the estate," lawyer Brent Bryson said Monday. "The spurious and unjustified allegations made against Ms Toney by Patty King, Karen Williams and Larissa Drohobyczer will be dealt with at a later time," he added. Among King's 11 surviving adult children, Williams and Patty King have been most outspoken about the music icon's care in his final days. They have accused Toney and BB King's personal assistant, Myron Johnson, of poisoning him to hasten his death. Toney and Johnson denied the claims, and Bryson dismissed them as ridiculous, defamatory and libelous. But the allegation prompted an autopsy by the Clark County coroner the day after a King memorial at a Las Vegas funeral chapel. Results of toxicology tests are expected in several weeks. Police said there was no active homicide investigation. Toney, who managed King's road show business for 39 years and had power-of-attorney over his personal affairs, is the executor named in his will. She declined on Monday to comment.