Former child star and "Bachelor Party" actor Tawny Kitaen died aged 59 on Friday in Newport Beach, California. While the cause of her death was immediately unknown, her brother claimed that it was because of a broken heart.

According to TMZ, her brother made the connection because their father just passed away a month earlier from skin cancer. 

However, a new report shines light into her death and hinted that it could also be linked to a lawsuit she was facing prior to the tragedy. According to Radar Online, the actress was facing some critical financial and personal problems in the months before she was found dead insider the Orange County home. 

Based on the court documents obtained by Radar, a debt collector named Midland Credit Management had filed a civil lawsuit against her back in August 2020. The debt reportedly amounted to $15,000. 

In court documents, the company said Kitaen had maintained a credit card with Neiman Marcus but since 2018, she already stopped making the necessary and regular payments.

Capitol One closed the account eventually and then sent the $15,319.15 bill to the collector.

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Apart from her unpaid financial dues, she was also reportedly dealing with a 2019 DUI arrest prior to her death. 

 

Records revealed the actress was arrested on July 22, 2019 and in October 2019, was officially charged. Tawny plead not guilty to the charges and she was given a schedule to appear in court the following month. She died on this particular month.

This was not the only legal issue that she was embroiled in in her life.

 In 2006, the model was only able to avoid being sent to prison after reaching a plea deal in a cocaine possession case. Otherwise, she could have served several years of sentence because cops found 15 grams of cocaine in her home. 

In 2009, she was again arrested for driving under the influence. The officers claimed she had pills in her system.

At the time of her death, her family claimed there were no illegal drugs or alcohol that could be witnessed at the scene. Kitaen's brother also claims that law enforcement officers told them that the actress could not have committed suicide.

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