Daughter of Brando May Face Charge

Actor Marlon Brando’s daughter, Cheyenne, faces a criminal charge in the French territory of Tahiti in the shooting death of her boyfriend in Los Angeles, the dead man’s father said Wednesday.

But the charge could be little more than a legal formality, observers in Tahiti said.

Brando’s son, Christian, 32, faces murder charges in Los Angeles for allegedly fatally wounding Cheyenne’s boyfriend, Dag Drollet, 26, at the actor’s Santa Monica Mountains estate on May 16.

Drollet’s father, Jacques Drollet, said he filed a charge--the equivalent of filing a complaint in this country--in Papeete, Tahiti, on July 2 against Christian Brando for the purpose of allowing French authorities to question anyone in Tahiti who might have been present and involved in his son’s killing.

Drollet, an influential political figure in Tahiti, said Cheyenne Brando, 20, was charged Wednesday, but he said he did not know the specific charge.

Reuters news service reported that Cheyenne Brando was charged with complicity to murder Dag Drollet--a charge tantamount to being an accomplice and carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction.

However, the examining magistrate in the case, Max Gatti, refused to confirm that any charges had been brought.

Drollet said Gatti questioned Cheyenne Brando for four hours on Tuesday. She is not in custody, but has been forbidden to leave the island, Drollet said.

While not confirming that Cheyenne Brando had been charged, Gatti said charging a person can be a mere formality under French law. In fact, a person suspected of a crime may ask to be charged in order to be able to have an attorney present at any questioning.

Gatti said he plans to give information from his investigation to authorities in Los Angeles, and that it is possible that Cheyenne Brando could be tried in Tahiti independent of her half-brother’s trial in Los Angeles.

Cheyenne Brando gave birth to a son by Dag Drollet on June 30, shortly after arriving in Tahiti from Los Angeles.

Christian Brando has told police he shot Drollet accidentally during a struggle after he angrily accused Drollet of “slapping Cheyenne around.” Homicide investigators said there was no sign of a struggle at the shooting scene.

Detectives said Marlon Brando told them that his daughter had suffered “psychological problems” following a serious traffic accident and had made numerous unfounded allegations in the past against family members.

Christian Brando’s preliminary hearing to determine whether he will stand trial for murder in Drollet’s killing will begin Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.