One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Rodney King's Fiancée: He Was Drinking All Yesterday
Rodney King's fiancée is telling friends that he had been drinking all day yesterday in the hours before she discovered his body at the bottom of the pool in their Rialto home.
Cynthia Kelley, who was on the jury in King's civil suit against the city of Los Angeles in 1994, told friends that King had been at the house drinking and smoking some weed all Saturday, according to TMZ.
Kelley went to bed around 2 am and was awoken around 5 am by a naked King screaming in the backyard and banging on the glass of their home. She called out to ask him what was wrong, and then a short time later she heard a splash in her backyard. She ran to see what had happened and discovered King's body at the bottom of the pool. She called police, but paramedics weren't able to revive him.
King's alcoholism had haunted him long before he was beaten by cops on the side of the freeway. Alcoholism was a problem on both sides of his family. When he spoke with LAistin 2009, he talked about his family's history: "I watched people die over alcoholism in my family on almost a yearly basis."
One incident stands out in particular. When he was five years old, a hard-drinking aunt barred from his grandmother's party got angry and threw a molotov cocktail under the house. Miraculously, he and his brothers escaped from the basement where they were playing shortly before the whole house went up in flames.
King released a book this spring just in time for the 20th anniversary of the riots. "The Riot Within: My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption." In interviews, he admitted that he still drank, and he had a medical marijuana card. He described himself in an interview with the Los Angeles Times as a "recovering addict."
King was still plagued with health problems from the beating 20 years later despite years of physical therapy. Reporters noted that because of his brain injuries King would lose his train of thought easily mid-conversation, which embarrassed and frustrated him. He told The Daily Beast: "I still have some pretty bad headaches from that beating. But I don't let anger take over when the pain comes. It doesn't help anything."
Sponsored message
King has been in and out of rehab, but his most famous stint was on "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew." He never claimed to have been past it, and he told LAist: "it's a fight everyday. Your disease will creep on you."
Related:
Rodney King: 17 Years After The Riots
Rodney King Dies At 47; Found At Bottom Of Pool
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
