Autospy Planned for Actor Brad Renfro: Police Say There is No Suspicion of Foul Play. The Actor, Was

Jan 16, 05:07 PM

Jan. 16--Friends of actor Brad Renfro have told L.A. County coroner's investigators that he was drinking before his death Tuesday, but authorities said they are still trying to determine how the 25-year-old died.

Coroner's officials said they plan to perform an autopsy on Friday and continue to interview people who knew Renfro, who had a history of drug problems.

Renfro, an actor best known for his roles in the movies "The Client" and "Ghost World," and who was arrested in Fort Lauderdale in 2000 while shooting a film, was found dead Tuesday, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

His body was found in his Wilshire-area home in the 1000 block of South Ogden Drive by his girlfriend, authorities said.

Renfro, who had a history of drug abuse, was declared dead by paramedics at 9 a.m., according to coroner's spokesman Ed Winter.

The cause of death had yet to be determined, he said.

"There is no suspicion of foul play," LAPD Lt. David Evans said.

Renfro was arrested in Fort Lauderdale in August 2000 on a grand theft charge after police said he and a friend tried to steal a 45-foot yacht from Holiday Harbor.

Renfro and his friend failed to untie the yacht from the dock, so rather than escaping with the vessel, they damaged it when the boat got yanked back into the dock. He was placed on probation in January 2001 and ordered to pay $4,000 for repairs.

Renfro, then 18, was in town filming "Bully," an adaptation of Jim Schutze's 1998 book about the murder of Bobby Kent, 20, in 1993 in an area that is now part of Weston. Kent was murdered by seven of his teenage friends and acquaintances, who all received prison sentences.

Renfro, a native of Tennessee, began acting in skits for the anti-drug group DARE at his school.

He got his big break when producers of "The Client" -- the adaptation of the John Grisham novel -- conducted a national search to find a fresh face to play the lead role of a boy who encounters danger after he overhears a conversation about a murder.

Renfro appeared opposite Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones in that 1994 movie.

In 1998, Renfro won the lead role opposite Ian McKellen in "Apt Pupil."

He appeared as a convenience store clerk with Scarlett Johansson and Steve Buscemi in 2001's "Ghost World."

Despite the promising start to his acting career, Renfro was known for his legal troubles.

In December 2005, he was picked up by LAPD officers during an undercover drug sweep of downtown's skid row.

The LAPD had taken a Times reporter and photographer along during the sweep, and a photo showing Renfro being arrested by two officers was featured on the paper's front page.

Renfro told a detective who arrested him that he was using heroin and methadone.

He ultimately went into a drug rehabilitation program and pleaded guilty to the attempted possession of heroin.

Renfro was sentenced to three years' probation.

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