Jett Travolta's Death By Seizure, Body Cremated And Flown To Florida

FREEPORT, Bahamas — Actor John Travolta and his wife, Kelly Preston, have returned to Florida with the remains of their 16-year-old son, Jett, who died at the family vacation home in Grand Bahama.

The couple received an urn with his ashes and left the island chain on Monday night, according to Obie Wilchcombe, a member of the Bahamas parliament and a family friend.

"Everything was in place, the cremation was completed, and they decided to leave," Wilchcombe said Tuesday. He said the family is back in Ocala, Fla., where they have a home.

Doctors in the Bahamas performed an autopsy on Jett on Monday but did not release results. However, a Bahamas undertaker said the teen's death certificate had "seizure" as the cause of death.

Jett Travolta had a history of seizures and was found unconscious Friday in a bathroom.

The body was in "great condition," said Glen Campbell, assistant director of the Bahamas funeral home that handled Jett's remains, though police officials had said the teen hit his head on a bathtub.

Funeral plans have not been announced.

In Ocala, Mayor Randy Ewers said the city sent the Travolta family condolences and will give them space and privacy.

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"They're fantastic people, really family oriented," Ewers said. "We want to respect their privacy as much as possible."

In a public statement Sunday, Travolta, 54, and Preston, 46, said they were "heartbroken that our time with him was so brief."

Travolta tried CPR to revive his son, who may have died in his arms before an emergency medical technician took over, Usmagazine.com reported, citing Travolta attorneys Michael McDermott and Michael Ossi. They did not respond to calls from the AP on Monday.

Travolta and Preston have said Jett became very sick when he was 2 years old and was diagnosed with Kawasaki Syndrome, an illness that leads to inflamed blood vessels. Preston blamed household cleaners and fertilizers and said a detoxification program based on teachings from the Church of Scientology helped improve his health, according to People magazine.

Police said in a statement that Jett had not been seen since Thursday when a caretaker, Jeff Kathrain, found him unconscious late Friday morning. But McDermott said that wrongly left the impression that Jett was unsupervised. He said two caretakers were with Jett throughout the evening, and he does not believe the teen was in the bathroom for very long.

The couple also has an 8-year-old daughter, Ella Bleu.

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Associated Press writers Mike Melia in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Tamara Lush in Ocala, Fla., and Chris Gillette in Freeport, Bahamas contributed to this report.

Comments

[ReasonableBill]

So many are expressing their personal feelings for the Travolta family loss, regardeless of reason. The family have always been a good famil and generous.
The media is of course full of and pitching conjecture on the accidental death and surrounding incidents. Their reason is "the people want to know". It is clear from those I have spoken to and the comments read - no they do not.

[Ramus]

Yes it is terribly sad. One wonders if Jett had one of the helper dogs who warn their owners of an oncoming seizure, if that might not have helped. But since they are saying he died of the actual seizure, that probably would not have helped..just so sad.

[Bridgett]

John and Kelly, My heart aches for you,, I am a mom of 2, but really a mom of 3, I had a special needs son Corey, who died when he was 14 months, back in 1990, I have a beautiful special needs daugter, Skylar, who is 16, and I have a beautiful "normal" if you will daughter, Elisabeth who is 11.. I see you, John, look at your son with such love in your eyes.. I know that special love,, it is more precious than anyone could know,, Dearest Kelly, I also see that love in you.... I am so sorry for your loss!! I have been there and it is the most Horrid pain anyone can feel.....To lose your child..is one of the most difficult things we as humans face.. I am not glad to say I can share your grief,, but I DO know how you feel... I am So sorry... You have my DEEPEST sympathy and true FEELING.... I feel for you and I know exactly what you are going through!!.... I didn't really FEEL, for the longest time.. I had no other children when I lost Corey,, It was very hard to move on,,, But you have your ELLA,,,, cherish her with everything that you are!!!! All my love and blessings to you John, you Kelly, and to you sweet Ella... Love Bridgett Hipkins,, of University Place Washington

[NotMcCain]

Since when is "seizure" a cause of death. It's a symptom of a cause.

Sorry, but if the death was avoidable--or happened because of religious beliefs--it should come out.

Maybe other lives could be saved if people think more clearly about Scientology.

[MomfromTexas]

People die from seizures everyday, and the seizures CAN BE the cause, not a symptom of another disorder.

[grata2ude]

The young man was on the drug Depakane for seizures. Sometimes these drugs loose their effectiveness.

[ColoradoDan]

Uncle Joey Travolta has been trying to get through to them for years. Always led to fights.

Sadly, they have rejected all he has done ... which has been immense for the autistic and their families. Joey is simply an amazing and giving being on his own.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/01/john-travolta-1.html

A sad sad time for all the Travoltas, including Joey. His documentary, which John would not watch, may have made a difference.

[jcollell]

I think Scientology is a joke and a cult. Come on the founder was a science fiction writer for Pete's sake. And yes, Scientology does not recognize autism. But lets leave this family alone and not jump the gun about what happened and why. Really none of our business. Let the authorities sort this out if there is indeed anything to sort out.

http://www.youspar.com/

[trudem2]

Nobody wishes the Travoltas any additional pain and anyone who has lost a loved one understands their grief at this time, nonetheless there are details about this death that just don't add up. That people wonder about it and talk about it in the "public square" (so to speak) is only natural. Others in a similar situation could benefit from getting down to what actually happened to Jett and why - and beyond John & Kelly, Jett deserves it too.

[apoyo]

What a heartbreaking loss and what a tragedy that any child on this earth has to die.

[devilyousay]

The syndrome the Travolta's say Jett had does not cause seizures. Seizures are related to epilepsy which is sometimes associated with autism, which Scientology does not believe is curable with drugs. The family denied that Jett was autistic because their religion would have been in conflict with its inability to "cure" their son. The body was cremated before being brought to the US for a more thorough autopsy.

I don't deny this must be tearing them apart and I am not calling them heartless, but people need to take a closer look at this. Religious beliefs have been in conflict with medical procedures before, particularly around blood transfusions. When cult practices might result in negligent treatment of an illness, regardless of who the parents are, people need to look closely at what is going on.

[commonsensor]

Their kid, their choice - Medical profession does NOT, repeat NOT override the Parental decisions about what is best for their child. Nor should it. You imply these people refused care for their son which is blatantly false - their son had been on medication for a great deal of his life. Further, you assume that the tidbits you read in the press somehow give you insight into every nitty gritty detail of their private lives.

You really should get over your Scientology thing and just let people live their lives - other than making bizarre assumptions about "negligent treatment of an illness"

But what the heck, since we are into 'assumptions' here, let me make one about you - LOSER!

[radiojunkie]

Parents sometimes make poor decisions for their children. Scientology makes bizarre assumptions about medical abnormalities and treatments. devilyousay is just stating reality.

[jbad5]

Commonsensor, what you say is not true. In the US, with the agreement of at least 2 physicians and a judge, the parents right to refuse treatment can be superceded. I have no idea what the law in the Bahamas is, or if there even is one. If this had occurred in the US, and parents were known to be withholding needed vital medical care, a complaint could be filed and a Child Protective Services investigation would proceed. Parent lose their children to CPS every day, although often only temporarily--just ask Brittney Spears. The Travolta lawyers make a statement that the decision to stop all medications was made after "consulting" a doctor. What they won't tell you is that the doctor almost certainly THE DOCTOR THAT EVALUATED JETT DID NOT AGREE WITH THE DECISION TO TAKE HIM OFF HIS MEDICATION--NO DOCTOR EVER WOULD in a child this ill. This is almost certainly why the name of this doctor has not been released. During my internship I did several months of rotations in Neurology--and this is what Neurologists teach. Although unintended, this foolish decision cost the life of an innocent child. I've heard Travolta spinners on the news say that "there is no evidence that it was bad decision to stop the medication". Hello!! The evidence is an innocent child who was taken off medication and died of a seizure. What a tragedy--and yes, it was preventable.

[indy girl]

When we were in the military we had a couple in our unit who had a baby with clearly visible Downs syndrome features and global delays. The mother was in complete denial and pretended that nothing was wrong with the baby. She even made up some crazy lie abut how the baby had been a twin but the twin died at birth, anything to distract from the fact that anyone could look at this child and KNOW she was Downs'. The child received no special treatment; no therapy appropriate for her condition; and by the time we left the base she was a severely delayed toddler. It was the saddest thing I had ever seen until I became a nurse and saw parents in denial as a professional. I always hoped that somewhere along the line either the husband would wake up and face down his wife, or an appropriate authority would file a child abuse charge for neglect.

[MomfromTexas]

Autism is not curable with any form of medication. Epilepsy can accompany autism, but it can accompany many other disorders and it can stand alone. Just because Jett had epilepsy does not mean he had autism. Also, epilepsy in its most severe forms can cause brain damage, which may explain some of the physical characteristics Jett had. We don't know the child's history, particularly how long he had been suffering from seizures, whether or not he was verbal at one point and lost his ability to speak, whether or not his health had been deteriorating for some time (the family photos seem to indicate this, IMHO, which makes me think his issues were causing some kind of progressive form of brain damage), and how many or what kinds of medications his parent tried. We have no right to judge or speculate.

[Bitsko]

None of our business. On to the next story.

[FaceYourFears]

So sad....my heart goes out to them.

[kas70]

Whatever the boy's disorder, seizures and resultant accidents can happen to anyone at any time. Openly and daily express your love towards those you care for.

My deepest condolences to the Travoltas. I hope their memories of him will carry them through.

[tora]

My deep sympathy goes to this family. However, I think one news, maybe even a couple, about Jett's death would have been enough for the media. There is no need to have this story updated, minute by minute, on why, when, where and how. I read somewhere that the Travolta's PR people have been feeding the media daily with the latest news. Whether this is true or not, let the boy rest in peace.

[DebofMD]

Agree.

[Keima]

It was time for Jett to go home.. His family is grieving and heartbroken.
To the Media: Please give them the space and the privacy they need more than ever.
And People, Please leave it at that.
REFLECT on this and think what if you were in the Travolta's place?

[redplanet]

Time to go home? I have three children and if anyone said such nonsense to me upon their death I would ask them to leave. I ask that you reflect and keep such thoughts to yourself. This is a personal belief and may not be shared by the grieving parents. Not everyone shares a belief in an afterlife (home???) and that someone is decreeing, "Time's over." What makes you the one to say, "It was time for Jett to go home."? Absolutely nothing.

[javaz]

I think you might have misunderstood the comment - "time to go home."
I didn't read that comment as a religious reference, but rather read it as meaning it was time to take Jett home for burial, home meaning Florida.

My husband and I lost our beautiful daughter in an unexpected tragic accident and there are no words to describe the pain or the grief.
Most people do not mean to insult the grief-stricken, but try to offer comfort.

[RobinSeattle]

Hey look,

Not to trivialize the obvious grief that the Travoltas are going through at the moment, but all across this country there are regular folks who have had to endure similar tragedies with a lot less personal resources than Travolta and nobody pays attention to them.

How about some equal time for regular working families faced with this?

[BruceHNV]

Indeed. Let's hope the Obama team really can make universal health care happen in this country. There are certainly very powerful forces arrayed against them, and against the idea that health is a right, not a commodity.

[jdmccl]

That because it has never been a right. read the constitution one day and find that so called right. Give away what little medical heath care we have in this country, the 5k a year smoking pot in his mammas basement posting hupo get the 1million dallr heart transplant? 4 years will seem like a long time away before long.