Jim Carrey facing lawsuit over death of ex-girlfriend Cathriona White

Mark Burton accuses Carrey of providing drugs to Ms White  

Heather Saul
Tuesday 20 September 2016 07:45 BST
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Jim Carrey and his girlfriend, Cathriona White, hold hands while taking a walk in Manhattan
Jim Carrey and his girlfriend, Cathriona White, hold hands while taking a walk in Manhattan

The estranged husband of Cathriona White has launched a wrongful death lawsuit against Jim Carrey over her suicide.

Ms White, a make-up artist from Ireland, was found dead in her Los Angeles home in September. A post-mortem determined the 30-year-old died from an overdose of various prescription drugs.

Carrey, 54, was a pallbearer at her funeral in her hometown of County Tipperary, in Ireland. The pair had dated intermittently from 2012.

Mark Burton has lodged a complaint claiming the actor used his “immense wealth and celebrity status” to illegally obtain and distribute prescription drugs involved in his ex-girlfriend's death.

Carrey branded the lawsuit a “heartless attempt” to exploit him and “the woman I loved”.

Mr Burton said Carrey provided the drugs to Ms White despite knowing she was “ill-equipped” to take them, prone to depression and she had tried to take her own life before.

The complaint, filed with Los Angeles Superior Court, states: “After her death, Mr Carrey took steps to conceal and obfuscate his involvement and culpability in Ms White's untimely and tragic death.”

Mr Burton also claims Carrey was "controlling" and monitored Ms White using surveillance cameras.

The cocktail of prescription drugs Ms White had taken were not prescribed to her and Carrey had obtained them under the name Arthur King, his suit continues.

A coroner's report released in July showed Carrey sent a text message to Ms White a day before her body was found asking where painkillers he kept under his sink had gone. The contents of the letter she wrote which was discovered with her body were also published.

Mr Burton claims Carrey's message was a “bogus text ... in an effort to cover up his conduct and complicity in her death” by “pretending as though he had misplaced the drugs and insinuating White may have taken them from Carrey without his knowledge”.

“If Carrey legitimately believed White had taken the drugs from him and she had subsequently gone missing for days with no contact, then why would Carrey not immediately request law enforcement to check on her well-being after she did not return his text?”

Mr Burton also alleges Carrey “continued his charade” by publicly offering to pay for Ms White's funeral in Cappawhite but "never paid a dime of funeral expenses".

Mr Burton, who lives in Portland, Oregon, is suing for violation of the drug dealer liability act and wrongful death and seeking unspecified damages.

Carrey responded in a statement calling Mr Burton's complaint "a terrible shame".

"It would be easy for me to get in a back room with this man's lawyer and make this go away, but there are some moments in life when you have to stand up and defend your honour against the evil in this world," he continued.

”I will not tolerate this heartless attempt to exploit me or the woman I loved. Cat's troubles were born long before I met her and sadly her tragic end was beyond anyone's control.

“I really hope that some day soon people will stop trying to profit from this and let her rest in peace.”

Carrey’s lawyer Marty Singer also responded to the lawsuit in a statement released on Monday night, dismissing it as “an outlandish shakedown”.

Mr Singer said Ms White had faced returning to Ireland when she married Mr Burton, and during their marriage she lived in California while he lived in Oregon and Utah.

“It is despicable that Burton, who claims to have been Ms. White’s husband but never lived with her and did not even reside in the same state she did, now comes forward trying to cash in on her death. We are confident that the court will see through this abhorrent money-grab scheme."

Mr Singer said the prescription drugs used by Carrey were legally obtained in a manner to protect his privacy as a high-profile actor.

“Jim never supplied his prescription medications to Ms. White. Ms. White stole his prescription medications from him.

“Significantly, my client’s prescriptions were legally obtained medications that were prescribed to him by his doctor in accordance with routine practices that are used all the time, and which are regularly used by SAG members and others with the knowledge of their doctors and insurers, to protect the privacy of well-known individuals.”

He said Carrey had not publicly offered to pay the funeral expenses.

Anyone in need of confidential support can contact the Samaritans 24/7 for free on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org.

Additional reporting by the Press Association

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