Police investigating the drowning of a four-year-old boy at the LA home of rocker Tommy Lee during a child’s birthday party on Saturday have ruled the death an accident, though the father of the deceased has hinted he may pursue legal action against the former Motley Crue drummer.
Little Daniel Karven Veres, the son of television producer James Veres and actress Ursula Karven, was found floating face down in the shallow end of the pool where he had reportedly been swimming alone. The child’s au pair had left the party just an hour earlier, and the babysitter of another boy attending the bash was supposed to bring Daniel home.
“He’d been in the pool a few minutes before they discovered him, and it just took those few minutes for the little guy to succumb,” said one of Tommy’s neighbours.
“This is a tragic accident,” says a spokesman for the drummer. “Tommy Lee is devastated and has no comment.” However, Daniel’s father James did have a few words to share.
“It was a birthday party like a million other birthday parties and obviously there wasn’t enough help at the pool,” said the grieving father. “It’s inexcusable and just amazing to me… I am meeting with the police to find out exactly what happened. I have heard stories about my son wearing a flotation device but I saw no evidence of one.”
One party guest and pre-school director has spoken out in defence of Pamela Anderson’s ex-husband, saying: “Every child there had someone who was responsible for them. It was a perfectly child-appropriate family picnic.”
The party was held to celebrate Pamela and Tommy’s son Brandon’s fifth birthday.
After two parents reportedly noticed Daniel floating in the pool and pulled his limp body from the water, Lee frantically phoned emergency services. “He’s a little boy. He’s throwing up right now, he was in the pool,” Tommy is said to have told the operator. “There is a big pool party here and no one was paying attention for a minute. He’s out of the pool now. We are doing CPR but he’s throwing up.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
