Updated: Mystery Surrounds Death of Oil Tycoon J. Paul Getty's Grandson in Hollywood Hills Home

Updated at 12 a.m.: The death of a 47-year-old grandson of the late oil billionaire J. Paul Getty today appeared to be from natural causes or an accident, authorities said.

Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Andrew Smith told the Los Angeles Times that it was still “very, very early in the investigation” of the death of Andrew Getty, but based on initial observations, “this does not appear immediately to be a criminal act.”

Ann and Gordon P. Getty confirmed their son’s death in a statement.

Early reports by numerous media outlets, including Patch.com, quoted sources saying Getty was shot.

KCAL9 reported Getty was found lying on his side in a hallway near a bathroom of his home in the 2900 block of Montcalm Avenue in the Hollywood Hills around 2:20 p.m.

Getty had claimed to have been feeling unwell for several months and had an appointment scheduled Wednesday with his personal physician, coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter told reporters at the scene.

Investigators had collected some bottles of prescription medication at the scene, Winter said.

The case is being handled by the LAPD’s elite robbery-homicide detectives because of its high-profile nature, The Times reported.

Smith said police received a 911 call around 2 p.m. from a female who was inside the home.

Investigators have not determined the time of Andrew Getty’s death, Winter said.

Toxicology tests would be conducted as part of the autopsy, Winter said. It usually takes six weeks for results of those test results to become available.

The entertainment news website TMZ reported that Andrew Getty’s ex- girlfriend made the 911 call, but claimed he had suffered a cardiac arrest. The website also reported that police have responded more than 30 times to domestic dispute calls involving the couple in the past.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Getty filed court papers two weeks ago seeking a restraining order against a woman.

Gordon P. Getty was reported by Forbes in 2011 to have a net worth of $2 billion. Forbes last year listed the Getty family 54th on a list of America’s Richest Families.

The Getty family has had a colorful history. J. Paul Getty had five children over the course of five marriages. One of his daughters-in-law died of a heroin overdose. J. Paul Getty III was kidnapped in the 1970s and had one of his ears cut off before his grandfather agreed to pay the ransom.

About a decade after J. Paul Getty died in 1976, Gordon Getty arranged the sale of Getty Oil to Texaco.

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• City News Service
• Photo Credit: Twitter user Dennis Romero ‏@dennisjromero