Kung Fu star David Carradine did not commit suicide, the celebrity forensic pathologist who examined his body has announced.

Dr Michael Baden, who hosts the graphic US TV series Autopsy, concluded that the American actor died of asphyxiation but said he would need at least another week before he could determine the circumstances leading to Carradine’s sudden death.

The Kill Bill star, who was 72 when he died, was found hanging in the closet of his Bangkok hotel suite a month ago, but Dr Baden, who was hired by Carradine’s family to follow up the official Thai investigation, said the way the actor was bound ruled out suicide.

"He didn't die of natural causes, and he didn't die of suicidal causes from the nature of the ligatures around the body, so that leaves some kind of accidental death," he told Reuters.

Reports at the time of Carradine’s death suggested his hands were tied behind his back but Dr Baden said they were bound above his head.

Speculation that the star died from auto-erotic asphyxiation has been rife. The dangerous sexual practice, where oxygen is cut off from the brain to boost arousal, killed Inxs singer Michael Hutchence in 1997.

Dr Baden said he had yet to determine whether there was a sexual element to Carradine's death but was investigating all possibilities, including foul play.

The pathologist has asked Thai police for data from the hotel’s pass keys as well as security video footage to ensure Carardine was alone in his room at the time of his death.

The actor was in Bangkok to film the movie Stretch when he died.

He became a household name during after starring in the 1970s TV series Kung Fu and then unearthed a new fan base when he was cast in Quentin Tarrantino’s 2003 film Kill Bill.

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