Amended civil suit alleges Nick Gordon gave Bobbi Kristina Brown a ‘toxic cocktail,’ put her in tub
Bobbi Kristina Brown died nearly six months after being found unresponsive in a bathtub at her Georgia home. No cause of death has been revealed. But questions have been raised about what happened before she was found, with suspicion cast on bo
Bobbi Kristina Brown’s legal conservator filed an amended civil suit Friday alleging wrongful death against Nick Gordon, who was living with Whitney Houston’s only child when the 22-year-old was found unresponsive in a bathtub Jan. 31.
Gordon, 25, is accused in the filing of giving Brown a “toxic cocktail rendering her unconscious” and putting her face-down in a tub full of cold water, where she suffered brain damage that ultimately resulted in her death, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Friday.
The suit, amended by attorney Bedelia Hargrove, who was appointed by the court while Brown was in a coma to look out for her legal interests, now says Gordon came home around 6 a.m. Jan. 31 after an “all-night ... cocaine and drinking binge,” local news affiliate WXIA reported.
Joe Habachy and Jose Baez, attorneys for Gordon, called the lawsuit “slanderous and meritless” in a statement issued Friday evening.
SIGN UP for the free Indie Focus movies newsletter >>
“Nick has been heartbroken and destroyed over the loss of his love and it’s shameful that such baseless allegations have been presented publicly,” the lawyers’ statement continued. “Nick has engaged civil counsel and intends to defend the lawsuit vigorously and expose it for what it is: a fictitious assault against the person who loved Krissy [sic] most.”
Gordon went into rehab in March after a wild appearance on “Dr. Phil” in which he appeared to be under the influence.
Hargrove originally filed the suit on June 24.
The amended suit alleges that on Jan. 31, the couple fought loudly for about a half-hour, moving from the kitchen upstairs to the master bedroom, and then things got quiet, with Gordon coming out of the bedroom wearing different clothes, getting into bed, putting his head on the ankle of a guest and saying, “Now I want a pretty little white girl like you,” WXIA said.
About 15 minutes later, the suit alleges, someone went to check on Brown and found her unresponsive, with a swollen mouth and a loose tooth, the station said. The suit then alleges that Gordon came into the bathroom and shouted at others to “clean up, clean up;” resuscitation was attempted before authorities arrived.
As reported by WXIA, the amended suit also gives details of an incident that happened days before Brown was found unconscious, in which Gordon is said to have punched his girlfriend in the face until she was bloody, breaking the couch she was sitting on and knocking a tooth loose, then kicking her “to the point that she was on the floor screaming and curled up in a fetal position” and dragging her up the stairs to the bedroom by her hair.
Gordon, who has denied any wrongdoing, recently hired lawyer Baez, who successfully represented Casey Anthony in a trial that found her not guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter.
“Nick says he didn’t do anything to hurt Krissi,” a relative of Gordon’s told People a couple of days after Brown died. “He did not cause her death.”
Gordon was unofficially “adopted” at age 12 by Whitney Houston, who raised him along with Bobbi Kristina Brown, her child with singer Bobby Brown. Nick and Bobbi Kristina became involved romantically after Houston’s death in 2012.
The new charges of wrongful death and pain and suffering are in addition to previous allegations of assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and exercising illegal control over Brown and her money. The initial suit, filed the day after Brown was put in hospice care with what grandmother Cissy Houston said was “global, irreversible brain damage,” was seeking at least $10 million in damages on each count.
Brown died July 26 in an Atlanta-area hospice. After a feud-laden funeral in Alpharetta, Ga., on Saturday, she was buried next to her mother in Newark, N.J., on Monday.
Gordon was not permitted to attend the memorial service or the burial.
Hargrove did not immediately respond to a Los Angeles Times request for a copy of the amended lawsuit.
Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs.
ALSO:
Dr. Dre’s new album ‘Compton’ a master class in music, culture, business
Jon Stewart leaves ‘The Daily Show’: The most memorable moments of the final episode
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
