Member of billion dollar Getty family found dead

Andrew Getty (pictured), the grandson of oil baron J Paul Getty, was found dead at his home in the Hollywood Hills. Photo / Facebook

A 47-year-old heir to the Getty oil fortune has been found dead with traumatic injuries but police do not believe foul play was involved.

Andrew Getty, a member of the billion-dollar Getty family, was found on Tuesday afternoon (local time) unconscious and naked from the waist down on the floor near a bathroom in his 5000 sq ft-mansion in the Hollywood Hills.

A 911 call was placed by Getty's ex-girlfriend, named by KTLA as 32-year-old Lanessa De Jonge, around 2pm. Miss De Jonge reportedly went to the home to check on Getty after urging him to see a doctor about "painful bowel movements", TMZ reported.

Getty took out a restraining order two weeks ago against his ex, a 32-year-old actress he had dated for four years, sources told TMZ. According to details from the court order, his ex was putting him at "grave risk" because a serious medical condition, which he was diagnosed with in 2013, was made worse by extreme stress.

The documents also claimed that De Jonge knew about Getty's health problems, and that she was extorting him for money, TMZ reported.

Paramedics who arrived on the scene found Getty bleeding from a "traumatic injury to the rectal area" and apparently suffering from blunt-force trauma. Medication was found at the scene.

The LA County Coroner said it appeared Getty's death was either accidental or of natural causes at his luxury villa close to Mulholland Drive.

A spokesman told Daily Mail Online on Wednesday that no further details were available until officials had spoken to the family. It was unclear if an autopsy would take place on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles County coroner's assistant, Chief Ed Winter, said Getty's death has been initially called an accident because of medication found at the scene.

He said coroner's officials need to wait for the results of further examination and toxicology tests, which could take up to 10 weeks to process.

"The tentative information that we do have is that he was not feeling good for the last couple months," Mr Winter said on Tuesday night.

"And he supposedly had an appointment tomorrow with a personal physician."

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Los Angeles Police Department sources told the Los Angeles Times that it was unclear how Getty sustained his injuries.

A joint investigation is underway by the LAPD and the LA County Coroner's Office.

Miss De Jonge was reportedly being interviewed by police and believed to be cooperating after initially being detained as a person of interest.

On Wednesday, the LAPD told Daily Mail Online that they were unaware of anyone being interviewed or held by the department.

"It is a coroner's case at this time," a spokeswoman said.

On Tuesday night, LAPD Cmdr Andrew Smith said that it was "very, very early in the investigation" and that "this does not appear immediately to be a criminal act".

Sources added to the Times that investigators do not believe the ex-girlfriend was involved in Getty's death.

The LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division is leading the investigation due to the high-profile nature of Getty's death.

Police sources told TMZ the couple had a troubled history, and just two weeks ago Getty took out a restraining order against the woman.

The LAPD have reportedly been called to the home more than 30 times in the past, mostly for domestic disturbances.

Getty and his girlfriend have sometimes been high during these calls and prescription pills recovered at the residence, according toTMZ.

Getty's ex was even placed under psychiatric hold for attacking a police officer on one of these calls and she has been caught breaking into the home, TMZ reported.

De Jonge was arrested in Beverly Hills on October 22 last year for trespassing, obstruction and battery on a peace officer/emergency personnel, according to public records.

She has had numerous arrests for harassment and disorderly conduct, public records revealed.

Miss De Jonge, who also goes by the name Lanessa Grace, is an aspiring actress who has had small TV and film roles, including the 2011 movie Warrior, starring Nick Nolte and Tom Hardy.

She has also been a licensed beautician and an online resume lists her other skills as bartender, comedian, hosting, masseuse and teleprompter. Her circus skills include the hula hoop and she proficient in a number of forms of dance.

Andrew Getty's parents, billionaire philanthropists Gordon and Ann Getty, confirmed his death on Tuesday in a statement.

"The family has requested that members of the media and the public respect its privacy during this extremely difficult time," it read.

Gordon Getty is the San Francisco billionaire son of the late J. Paul Getty, whose oil fortune made his family among the richest in US history. Andrew Getty was one of Gordon and Ann Getty's four sons.

According to public records, 12 court filings have been lodged against Andrew Getty over unpaid taxes.

Getty, who was educated at the private prep Dunn School in California, went on to NYU and then USC. He described himself as self-employed.

In 2005, IMDB listed Getty as the director of horror movie, The Storyteller.

Andrew Getty's second cousin is the actor Balthazar Getty, best known for his role on TV drama, Brothers & Sisters.

The Gettys are the 54th richest American family, with an estimated worth of $5 billion. Andrew Getty's grandfather J. Paul Getty founded the company .

The Scottish-Irish family struck liquid gold after immigrating to the US from County Londonderry in Northern Ireland.

However, money has brought an equal amount of problems for the Getty family and the family tree is scattered with scandal and tragedy.

J. Paul Getty had five children from five marriages, and one of his daughters-in-law died of a heroin overdose.

When his grandson J. Paul Getty III was kidnapped in 1973, his grandfather agreed to pay the $3.2 million ransom for his release only after the captors cut off one of the then 16-year-old's ears.

At the time of his death in 1976, J. Paul Getty was thought to be the richest men in the world (the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes died two months before him).

About a decade later, son Gordon Getty (Andrew's father), sold the family company to Texaco for $10 billion.

After paying about $1 billion in capital gains for the deal, Gordon split the proceeds of the sale into four equal parts of $750 million.

Gordon and brother J. Paul Getty Jr each received $750 million cuts. The three daughters of eldest son George F. Getty II split a $750 million portion and the final portion was given to the descendants of disfavored son Jean Ronald Getty (Jean Ronald only received $3000 a year in income from the deal).

Andrew Getty is the second of four sons Gordon Getty had with wife Ann.

In 1999, Gordon Getty made headlines when it was revealed he had a secret family with girlfriend Cynthia Beck, fathering three daughters now aged 23, 25 and 29. He is worth $2 billion, according to Forbes.

Andrew Getty purchased his 70-year-old home in the Hollywood Hills in 1996 following the death of previous owner Miklos Rozsa, a three-time Academy Award-winning film composer known for his work on Ben-Hur.

The home is worth an estimated $3.8 million according to real estate site Zillow.

The Getty family's connection to the art world

J. Paul Getty was a great appreciator of art and left more than $661 million of his collection of art and antiques to his namesake museum in Los Angeles on his death.

The J. Paul Getty Trust is the world's wealthiest art institution with an endowment of about $5.6 billion, by a 2011 estimate.

The trust operates the Getty Foundation, the Getty Research Institute and the Getty Conservation Institute.

The Getty Museum is one of Los Angeles' biggest tourist attractions with 1.6 million visitors a year.

- Daily Mail

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