B.B. King’s manager says the blues legend didn’t want to see family

Blues legend B.B. King made the decision to preclude visits from two of his daughters during his dying days, his longtime manager alleges in a new court document.

LaVerne Toney, who worked for King for more than 40 years, denies that she prevented Karen Williams and Patty King from visiting their father.

“It was Mr. King’s decision to not visit with Karen and Patty,” according to the document.

Las Vegas attorney Brent Bryson filed the document Tuesday on Toney’s behalf. Clark County District Judge Gloria Sturman has scheduled a hearing in the probate case Thursday morning.

Lawyers have filed a flurry of papers in the contentious case since King’s death on May 14. King, whose legal name was Riley B. King, was in hospice care when he died in his Las Vegas home at age 89.

One of King’s grandsons, Eric Mitchell Jr., entered the fray with his own court document Wednesday.

According to the document, “Eric is greatly concerned about the allegations being made in this proceeding and believes these matters should be kept private and mediated privately.”

In the document, Mitchell offered to work closely with Toney and King’s family to “facilitate the process of going forward with his grandfather’s estate.”

“Meanwhile, Eric believes that important rights of family members to Mr. King’s intellectual properties might be getting overlooked and this needs to be addressed immediately.”

Mitchell is represented by Las Vegas attorneys Bradley Richardson and Daniel Nubel. His mother, Riletta Mitchell, was King’s daughter. She died Sept. 14.

According to court records, King has 11 surviving children, all of whom are adults.

Five of King’s daughters, including Williams and Patty King, object to the appointment of Toney as personal representative of his estate. They say she should be disqualified because of conflicts of interest and her alleged embezzlement of more than $1 million from their father.

Through Bryson, Toney has denied embezzling the money. The lawyer said Toney transferred the money into King’s trust account after his death.

According to the document filed Tuesday, Patty King spent time taking care of her father after he came home from touring in October and did so until he was placed in hospice care in April.

“As a result of Patty’s constant complaining about her need for money Patty began to get paid in December of 2014 to watch and take care of her father,” according to the document.

The document also claims Patty King is “a multi-convicted felony” in Florida who pawned several of her father’s items at pawn shops in Las Vegas without his permission.

In addition, it claims King “was extremely upset” that Patty King and Williams caused him to be taken to the hospital in April for a second time.

“Mr. King’s greatest fear was that he would die in the hospital against his will,” the document contends. “Mr. King wanted to spend his last days in the comfort of his home.”

The document further claims that Patty King and Williams had engaged “in various schemes” to manipulate their father out of money. It also claims King rejected a request by another daughter, Rita Washington, to write a book titled “On the Road With My Dad.”

“Some of Mr. King’s children and relatives are attempting to do what Mr. King would never allow them to do when he was alive, which is to insert themselves into his business affairs,” the document alleges.

Las Vegas attorney Arthur Williams Jr. has said he drafted King’s will in 2007, and the document made Toney the executor. He said he knows of no other will drafted after 2007.

In the document filed Tuesday, Toney contends that some of King’s relatives are making disparaging remarks about her because they “are upset at Mr. King for not wanting to visit them, and not leaving them large sums of money from his estate.”

“These family members no longer want Ms. Toney to protect Mr. King’s assets because she is doing such a great job,” according to the document.

The four daughters who originally objected to Toney’s appointment as personal representative of King’s estate are Patty King, Karen Williams, Washington and Barbara Winfree. A fifth daughter, Rubystein Davis, filed an affidavit Monday in support of the objection.

Their legal team includes Florida attorneys Benjamin Crump and Jose Baez. Crump gained national prominence when he represented the family of Trayvon Martin. Baez is best known for his representation of Casey Anthony, who was acquitted of murder in 2011.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Find her on Twitter: @CarriGeer