BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhuanet) -- "Kung Fu" star David Carradine died of asphyxiation, said a medical practitioner who worked on the actor's second private autopsy, ruling out suicide by hanging.

U.S. actor David Carradine arrives for a screening at the 57th Cannes Film Festival in this May 21, 2004 file photo. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Carradine was found hanging in the closet of his Bangkok hotel room on June 4. The family of the former "Kung Fu" star had hired New York-based forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden to conduct a follow-up autopsy after Carradine's body was returned to the U.S. last month.

    Thailand authorities had conducted one shortly after the actor's death.

    "The cause of death was asphyxiation, an inability to breathe, now why that happened is still what we're working on," Baden told a news service. He said the cause of death meant that suicide was ruled out as a possibility.

    "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," Baden said.

    Soon after Carradine's death, it was soon confirmed by various officials that a rope was tied to his neck and genitals, prompting speculation that the former Kung Fu star had been engaged in autoerotic asphyxiation.

    (Agencies)