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Kung Fu actor David Carradine died from asphyxiation and given way the actor's body was found, trussed up with rope around his neck and genitals, suicide was not the motive, according to the medical examiner who oversaw a private autopsy.

Unanswered is whether someone else assisted, or worse, murdered him.

The actor’s family hired forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden to conduct a follow-up death investigation and autopsy.

The fact that Carradine’s hands were tied above his head suggests that someone could have been in the room with him while he most likely engaged in autoerotic asphyxiation, a technique that is supposed to heighten the effects of orgasm while masturbating.

Baden did not rule out that possibility of autoerotic asphyxiation, but he declined to say it was the cause during an interview with Reuters news agency.

Whether he was being assisted by a prostitute, or some one else, who became frightened and ran out of the room when Carradine passed out, or something more sinister happened may never be resolved.

Baden said he wants more information from Thai police before ruling out the possibility that someone murdered Carradine. The actor's family has suggested that a secret Chinese martial arts group may have wanted him dead, because David had plans to expose it.

Baden said he wants to see data from the hotel room keys, and security video to ensure no one was in the room with him at the time.

Carradine was found hanging in the closet of his Bangkok hotel suite on June 4. Local police ruled out foul play, at first, calling his death a suicide. But local autopsy still have not been released, although the police also concluded that he died by asphyxiation.

Baden had earlier said the actor's death was not a suicide, but details of autopsies have been scant. Baden said yesterday that his full determination of how Carradine died will not be ready until at least a week.

"The cause of death was asphyxiation, an inability to breathe, now why that happened is still what we're working on," Baden told Reuters.

"He didn't die of natural causes, and he didn't die of suicidal causes from the nature of the ligatures around the body, so that leaves some kind of accidental death," said Baden, the host of cable channel HBO's "Autopsy" series.