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John Travolta and Kelly Preston’s son Jett, 16, passed away in early January after suffering a seizure and hitting his head in the bathroom at his parents’ vacation home in the Bahamas. The family has only stated publicly that their son suffered from Kawasaki Syndrome, a chemically-induced childhood disorder that does not explain all of Jett’s symptoms. Jett was nonverbal and has been photographed walking on his tip toes. There was speculation that he was autistic, although that was never confirmed by the Travoltas.
Jett’s death was controversial due to the fact that his parents are members of the Church of Scientology, which does not believe in psychiatric illness and strongly discourages followers from using any form of psychiatric drugs. Fellow Scientologists maintain that physical illnesses, like autism, are permitted to be treated under their belief system. The Travoltas say they did treat Jett’s seizures with the drug Depakote, but that it simply stopped working for him after several years and he was taken off it under the guidance of a neurologist. What’s more is that Jett had a full time nanny, but the man wasn’t thought to be trained in childcare and works as a photographer.
It’s unlikely that we’ll ever know if Jett would have had the seizure that led to his death if he was on another drug or if someone with formal training was watching him. There’s been enough speculation about his death by people who aren’t affected by it. His parents are probably heartbroken wondering if there was anything they could have done differently to have saved their son.
Now there’s news that two people in the Bahamas, including a “politician” who may be involved in the investigation into Jett’s death, have tried to extort millions from the Travoltas. It’s unknown what kind of damning information they claim to have:
John Travolta lawyers fighting extortion demands made after the death of son Jett.
Bahamas based newspaper, TheTribune, reported police are investigating two co-conspirators “one believed to be a politician” in an ongoing investigation.
Travolta’s attorneys, Mike Ossi and Howard Butler, released a statement in Jacksonville, Florida after returning from the Bahamas: “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.”
Ossi and Butler’s said they have “the utmost confidence in the Bahamian police and government” as it investigates the alleged extortion attempt.
The barristers then declined further comment.
John Travolta and Kelly Preston’s son Jett,15, died at their Grand Bahama vacation home. Official cause of death was listed as “seizure” after the teen was found unconscious in the Travolta family bathroom.
[From The National Enquirer's website]
Initial reports by TMZ, which were said to have been confirmed by Bahamian police, had Jett hitting his head in the bathroom the night before he was discovered. The family strongly denied these claims and said he suffered the accident in the morning not long before he was found.
The entire investigation is now compromised by this extortion attempt. If the police had any information that may cast doubt on the Travolta’s account of Jett’s death, it’s not like they’re going to be able to do much with the case now that it’s been tainted. Blackmail from an official will pretty much negate any findings that may implicate the Travoltas and cast doubt on the integrity of all the evidence. So now we have a grieving family that has to endure these claims, whatever they may be, and an investigation that’s shot.
John Travolta and Kelly Preston are shown at The Oscars last year. Credit: WENN
Written by Celebitchy
Posted in John Travolta, Kelly Preston
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25 Responses to “John Travolta and Kelly Preston in extortion plot from Bahamian official”
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that is sick! people are consumed with greed!
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As a parent of an autistic child myself, I’ve always wondered what the big deal was if Jett had autism or not and how that relates to scientology. It’s not like autism can be treated with psychiatric drugs anyway - they can only make life more “bearable” for the parents of said children. Seizure drugs would not be considered psychiatric, would they?
If the Travoltas chose to live with Jett’s behavioral issues without medicating (using psych drugs), then that’s their prerogative. Use of those drugs would not have made Jett’s supposed autism go away.
If Jett was really autistic, he needed intervention, yes but with Speech, behavioral, social,sensory, and occupational therapy, etc. Psych drugs wouldn’t have improved his autism - only behavior issues associated, so what’s the big deal if he chose not to use them?
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@Cici - Certain anti-seizure medications can have a psychiatric application so in that sense, yes they would be considered a psychiatric drug. The anti-seizure meds depakote, tegretol and lamotrigine sometimes used in the treatment of the bipolar mood disorders.
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*’are’ sometimes used* I miss the edit feature…
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There probably is some wrongdoing surrounding the boy’s death. Whether it is from parental or custodial negligence is yet to be determined. Extortion is in the eye of the beholder. I believe Kelly and John have been covering up issues relating to their son’s condition for all of his life. The fact that someone may “spill the beans” on them i.e., tell the truth is probably a very real threat to them.
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@Baho - we had to disable the comment editing feature as it was taxing the database and the server so much the site was going down during peak times. I’m very sorry about that!
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Okay, why couldn’t the Travoltas simply treat Jett’s seizures as a physiological disorder? Even if those same drugs are used in psych patients, surely they have other applications? Many drugs do. Strange.
In any case, I still don’t get why it matters if he “had autism or not.” Autism is a neurological disorder, not a psychiatric disorder. They could have treated the seizures as a physiological condition to his neuro disorder. I was thinking along the lines of the ADHD, OCD meds that many parents use in treating “quality of life” for kids and families that live with autism. If they did not want to use those, that is their prerogative, but yes, any physiological conditions should have been addressed and treated.
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Thanks CB!
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Cici, I believe COS believes that autism is a sign that there is a “fault” with the thetan.
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It has already been said that they stopped using the anti-seizure medication,not only b/c the seizures began to come back,close together in time,but because the drug was affecting his critical organs. [I suspect liver and kidney,among others]. The medications are not a cure all that should be taken no matter what.
They are TOXIC and can lead to irreversible organ damage. That includes psych. meds,people.
It is naiive to not realize the complexities of utilizing toxins to heal the body. Western medication utilizes toxins to heal the body.You have to monitor constantly,and continually rework medication doseages.
IN a young child [whose body is still growing] or older person,especially,organ damage is a serious concern.
I think the real issue here is where the kawasaki disease came from; Travoltas have stated numerous times that it came from pesticides and toxins in the environment-John T. said he had the carpets cleaned several times a week when Jett was a baby-b/c he was so concerned about cleanliness for his new baby. How many of us have good intentions,only to find out our strategy created harm?
Point being,those carpet cleaners were inhaled by a baby whose central nervous system was still developing. Neurologically,this is disastrous when done frequently.
And here you all are arguing about whether or not he should have been given more toxins.
Americans are largely ignorant about healthcare–it’s either naiivity or blind faith in a system that has only been around for a short time. At least question and research the treatment methods you assume are safe and full proof.
[not,i'm not a scientologist and only know the rumors about it that i hear...But common sense has shown me that there are multiple variables in any situation;experience has shown me that western medicine is hardly a first go-to choice for healthcare. It's for emergencies,not maintenance.]
Sorry for the tangent at the end there.
I just think this topic is ignoring the key points of the issue. -
Cici, I have always wondered this too. I think Ria has a good point, but I also wonder if perhaps he was never given the opportunity to receive even basic “traditional” medical care? Were the parents cult members before he was born? If so, I guess it’s possible that, in his entire life, the kid was never examined by a real doctor.
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There was a tab article that said the nanny was just a Travolta staffed photographer on at least one occasion. Can’t be confirmed of course.
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How cruel people are. Medical doctors and/or psychiatrists over diagnose ADDH and Autism; lay people who make these “diagnoses” usually have no idea what they are talking about. There is a prevalent belief that medication is always the answer for childhood disorders, but the fact is that medication for highly active and/or autistic children is often prescribed to make life easier for parents and teachers, not for the children. Autism is a pervasive developmental delay; there is no pharmaceutical cure or treatment. Respect the grief of these heart broken parents, and leave them alone.
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I’m wondering: how would official nanny training have helped his caregiver prevent a seizure?
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tigerlille, medication is not always the answer for childhood disorders, but that doesn’t mean it is never the answer.
“…lay people who make these “diagnoses” usually have no idea what they are talking about.” Are you a lay person by any chance? Or are you a physician specializing in “ADDH”?
Anyway, Cici’s original point was that treatment of autism does NOT require medication to improve quality of life, so why they were allegedly in denial is unclear.
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The Scientology Fair Game policy is “Always attack, never defend. Enemies can be lied to, sued, deprived of property, and utterly destroyed by any Scientologist without any punishment to the Scientologist.” And they have a cadre of high-priced lawyers and private investigators to help them out.
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As a autism specialist and former educator of severe to profound autistic children, I find the speculation and/or curiousity as to whether Jett Travolta suffered from one of the many types of autism moot. If he, in fact, suffered from a form of autism much of what has been said regarding medication, in my experience, is true. The photographs that I have seen show an affectionate young man who tolerated physical affection & eye contact with his parents. If his condition was undisclosed, it likely has more to do with protecting their child from photographers/journalists than COS or any type of embarrassment. The goal of loving parents of any child is to give their child as normal an upbringing as possible.
It is easy to be an “arm-chair quarterback” with regard to what one thinks they could or should have been done by the Travoltas’
Unlike some high-profile celebrities who demand their privacy, I have seen many interviews of both parents, on television & print. In all of these both actors were gracious & never, to my knowledge, refused to answer questions.
I believe that these parents are grief-stricken and do not need anyone speculating as to whether they could have done things differently - they are doing more of this than all of us combined. -
The thing that bothers me really has nothing to do with whether or not their son was autistic. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t…we’ll never know. One thing that we DO know is that he had a seizure disorder. Trying one type of medication and then giving up on medication all together is not acceptable. Depakote is not the only seizure medication on the market. There are also vagus nerve stimulators and many other options. No neurologist I have ever worked with has given up on someone with poorly controlled seizures after one medication lost effectiveness.
And yes, seizure medication has side effects…it can affect organs and bone density, but poorly controlled seizures can lead to death, as this story illustrates far too well.
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My question is, if jett suffered from seizures why was he unsupervised when he went to the bathroom, shouldn’t somebody or his nannies be in there with him or outside the bathroom checking if his ok. and why was his body discovered the next day in the morning? I thought his parents had nannies or caretakers monitoring and taking care of there son in his conditions? hmmmmm
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When it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go. The Travolta’s loved their son, in every photo you can see that they are holding his hand or sharing a special moment with him.
People should just leave them alone and let them be!
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I read that there was a baby monitor in the bedroom and in the bathroom. A caregiver came in to releive the caregiver who was watching Jett and they Both went to sleep. So, neither of them heard Jett go to the bathroom. There are newer safer anti-seizure meds on the market.He should have been on some kind of anti-seizure meds. Depakote is one of the older drugs with many possible side effects. Blood test must be performed periodically to ensure a therapeutic level in the blood. This is a very sad situation and a series of unfortunate events that let to his death. In a nut shell, he should have had better supervision and he should have been on anti-seizure meds. My heart goes out to the parents because they lost their son and they will have to deal with the care (or lack of) they chose for Jett.
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@ Baho: Corruption in Govt. is not only in the West Indies… Check out what si happening in Chicago right in your own beloved USA!!
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P.S. It is unfortunate that something like this should happen to such a nice Family as the Travoltas; especially during a time of such great sorrow for them. If it is proven to be true I am sure those involved will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law!!
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The Travoltra”s live in this city,near me.We in Ocala,Florida give them the same respect/privicy we expect.It really is NO ONES business what the children have/have not nor their illnesses/medication or death. STOP GOSSIPING!!
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Sad to say, but corruption in government and policing in the West Indies is nothing new.
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