Travolta Son Jett's death

1. Travolta says he's heartbroken at son Jett's death
FREEPORT, Bahamas - John Travolta said Saturday he and his wife Kelly Preston are "heartbroken" over the death of their chronically ill 16-year-old son, who collapsed at the family's vacation home on Grand Bahama.
Police Superintendent Basil Rahming has said a caretaker found Jett Travolta unconscious in a bathroom late Friday morning and he was later pronounced dead at a Freeport hospital. The youth was last seen entering the bathroom on Thursday, according to Rahming's police statement.
"We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives," Travolta and Preston said in their first public statement since Jett's death. They also thanked people for their support.
"Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered," said a statement posted Sunday on Travolta's Web site. "We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives."
Preston and Travolta have said that Jett became very sick when he was 2 years old and was diagnosed with Kawasaki Syndrome, an illness that leads to inflamed blood vessels in young children. Preston blamed household cleaners and fertilizers, and said that a detoxification program based on teachings from the Church of Scientology helped improve his health, according to People magazine. Others said Jett was prone to seizures.
Michael McDermott, an attorney for the actor, said Sunday that although Jett was last seen Thursday and found the following day, he doesn't believe that the teen was in the bathroom for a substantial amount of time.
"The police left the impression that the boy was unsupervised. No. There were two nannies with him for the entire evening," McDermott told The Associated Press. "They made it seem like he was sent to the condo and nobody checked in on him until the next morning."
"(Jett) was spectacularly supervised," said McDermott, who said he has not had the chance to talk to the two nannies himself.
McDermott said he had no knowledge of Jett's medical history but "understood he had a history of seizures." It is unclear whether Jett was taking medication for that.
The Bahamas' health minister, Dr. Hubert Minnis, has said that a second, U.S.-certified pathologist will fly in at dawn Monday to assist with the teenager's autopsy.
"I have spoken to (Travolta) and informed him that the government is doing everything it can," Minnis said Sunday, adding he could not disclose further specifics about the autopsy.
About a dozen security guards and Bahamian police officers patrolled Sunday around the luxury Old Bahama Bay resort community where Travolta and Preston remained inside their home. The white-sand beach in front of the suites was closed.
The couple also has an 8-year-old daughter, Ella Bleu.
Travolta, 54, is trying to finish funeral arrangements and hopes to fly his son's body to Florida by midweek, McDermott said. Travolta and Preston, 46, have a house in Ocala, Florida.
The Church of Scientology, established in 1945 by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, has attracted numerous celebrity followers, and among its more famed members is Travolta, who has long been one of Hollywood's biggest names.
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Associated Press Writers Lisa Orkin Emmanuel in Miami and David McFadden in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
http://www.travolta.com/

2. Family Lawyer: Jett Travolta May Have Died in Father's Arms
John Travolta's lawyers -- who are close family friends -- reveal to Usmagazine.com that Jett may have died in his father's arms Friday. "Yesterday was the worst day of [John's] life," Travolta's lawyer and confidant, Michael McDermott, and Michael Ossi, the family's attorney, tell Us in a phone interview (during which they asked all quotes to be jointly attributed).Us: How is John doing?Ossi and McDermott: "John is distraught. He is trying to understand and reconcile this. He is seeking an explanation so that this makes sense to him. And his loved ones are trying to provide that to him."Yesterday was the worst day of his life. Today is probably equally as bad, and if not, it's the second worst day of his life."John is recognizing the outpouring of support he has got from both the U.S. and the world. He can feel the love and he says it makes him stronger and hopefully it allows him to reconcile."He is undergoing the pain any father would if they lost his son. Generally a son buries his father, and John thought that would be the way it would go with Jett, not the other way around."He is in shock. He is emotionally distraught. He is going through many different feelings of disbelief and anger. It's going to take a while for him to feel good again. This is the most traumatic thing that has ever happened to him and he needs to go through a process of healing. John and Kelly are suffering total misery. They were so close to their son. This is hard to accept."He had set a vacation for his employees and friends. Forty-nine adults and their children were coming here [to the Bahamas] from Jan. 2nd to 4th. We were all so excited to spend some days with John. We were on the plane and we had no idea, and then we landed and we found out. Every year he holds a party for friends and employees and this year he had the idea to fly us all to his condo. We were planning to hang out on the beach, go for boat rides and spend time with the family.Us: Have John and Kelly spent time with anyone since everyone arrived?Ossi and McDermott: "John and Kelly have been pretty much locked away."We are staying here until John leaves. The autopsy should be on Monday.Us: How is Jett's 8-year-old sister, Ella Bleu, taking it?Ossi and McDermott: "John broke the news to Ella. She is heartbroken. She is in disbelief, but it is starting to sink in. She has been asking where her brother is. She was so close to Jett. The whole family were so close. They went everywhere together. If John made a movie, they were all there with him. Us: It's been reported that Jett was left alone for several hours before being discovered. Can you clarify the timeline?Ossi and McDermott: "Jett was not left alone. He had a nanny present at all times. The nanny was sleeping close to Jett's room. There was a baby monitor, a chime on the door so it was known when Jett was going in and out. He was completely supervised. The nanny found him.Us: Is it true that Jett died in John's arms?Ossi and McDermott: "Jett may have still been alive when John administered CPR, and then the EMT took over. Jett was pronounced dead at the hospital. I like to believe John had a chance to say goodbye. He may have died in his dad's arms. I am not certain."Us: It's been said Jett had a history of seizures. How often did he have them?Ossi and McDermott: "I am not confident to talk about that. I know he had a history, which of course warranted the extra attention."Us: You obviously knew Jett well. What was his personality like?Ossi and McDermott: "He was a wonderful boy. He had physical limitations, but when he looked in his dad's eyes, the love was tangible. When he grabbed onto his dad, he did not want to let him go."


3. Travolta "heartbroken" over son's death
NASSAU (Reuters) - Actor John Travolta broke a two-day silence over the death of his 16-year-old son Jett on Sunday, saying he and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, were "heartbroken" by their sudden loss.
Jett, who had a history of seizures, was found unconscious in a bathroom at his family's home at the Old Bahama Bay resort on Grand Bahama Island on Friday morning.
He was pronounced dead after being taken by ambulance to Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport and an autopsy to determine the cause of death is due to be performed in the Bahamas on Monday.
"Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered," Travolta said in a statement posted on his website http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/nm/people_nm/storytext/us_travolta/30446504/SIG=10p7rajuc/*http://www.travolta.com.
"We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time that we had with him for the rest of our lives."
The statement did not refer to Jett's medical history or possible cause of death. But Travolta's lawyers, Michael Ossi and Michael McDermott, were quoted on Sunday as saying Jett apparently suffered from grand mal, a type of epilepsy marked by convulsions and loss of consciousness.
He was on an anti-seizure medication called Depakote for several years, Ossi and McDermott told the celebrity website TMZ.
They said the drug was suspended after it lost its effectiveness amid concern about side effects, however, and Jett had been suffering about one extremely serious seizure a week.
Travolta and his wife have said previously that Jett became very sick when he was a toddler and was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, which leads to inflammation of the blood vessels in young children.
Ossi and McDermott did not immediately return calls from Reuters on Sunday seeking comment. Travolta's publicists have declined to comment on autopsy or funeral plans for the actor's teenage son.