Bahamas detains suspects in attempted Travolta extortion

Jan 24, 2009, 4:56 GMT

According to the TMZ.com internet portal, the plot allegedly tried to exhort up to 20 million dollars from the actor. Some unconfirmed media reports suggested that it involved a threat to release photos of the dying boy. © Chris Hatcher / PR Photos

   Los Angeles - Police on the Bahamas arrested three people believed to be involved in an attempt to blackmail US actor John Travolta over the death of his son Jett, reports said Friday.

   Jett Travolta, 16, died in early January on the island, where the actor owns a home.

   Ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, Bahama Senator Pleasant Bridgewater and Obie Wilchcombe, a former tourism minister and acquaintance of the family, were detained and questioned by police, but no charges had been filed, E!Online reported.

   Earlier this week, Travolta's lawyers confirmed a blackmail attempt. 'Regrettably, in a time of such terrible grief, there are often a few individuals who attempt to make false claims in hopes of making millions of dollars. We will never let that happen,' a statement said.

   According to the TMZ.com internet portal, the plot allegedly tried to exhort up to 20 million dollars from the actor. Some unconfirmed media reports suggested that it involved a threat to release photos of the dying boy.

   Wilchcombe acted as a family spokesman after Jett, son of Travolta, 54, and his wife Kelly Preston, 46, was found unconscious in the bathroom of the family's holiday home in Grand Bahama on January 2. The boy, who had a history of seizures, died on the way to hospital.

   His parents said he suffered from Kawasaki disease, a rare illness that can cause heart problems. The couple also has an 8-year-old-daughter, Ella.