Penal
Aftermath of Tim Buckley's Death Los
Angeles, March 23 1976 Musician
Richard Keeling, convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the narcotics death
of singer Tim Buckley, is behind bars after failing a chance to avoid jail through
volunteer work. The sentence is 120 days and includes four years probation. Keeling
pleaded guilty last November in Santa Monica Superior Court. He was then working
toward a doctorate in music at UCLA. Judge
Charles H. Woodmansee offered to suspend the jail time if Keeling worked as a
part-time assistant in a Venice school and otherwise lived up to terms of probation.
Dep. Dist. Atty. Harvey Giss said school officials turned down the plan. Giss
said he favored involuntary manslaughter rather than murder because of cloudy
aspects in the case. Evidence, he said, indicated Keeling had not offered Buckley
any narcotics. He merely left some heroin in an ash tray on the fatal day, March
5, 1975. Buckley died in his home shortly after sniffing the heroin, which he
apparently mistook for something else. (Webmaster
note: The source for this page is unknown.Any help in identifying the original
article would be welcomed.) |