Jim Carrey Implicated in Girlfriend’s Suicide

LOS ANGELES (CN) — A new lawsuit claims Jim Carrey illegally provided the prescription drugs his girlfriend took to kill herself, but the "Dumb and Dumber" star has blasted the allegations from the young woman's husband as a "heartless attempt" to profit from her death.

The Los Angeles Superior Court complaint from Oregon resident Mark Burton accuses Carrey of "extreme and outrageous" misconduct leading up to and following the overdose death of Cathriona White, a 30-year-old Irish makeup artist.

Burton says Carrey purchased Percocet and other medications under a fake name and gave the drugs to White; spied on her with surveillance cameras but ignored indications she might be in trouble; and reneged on a promise to pay for her funeral in Ireland.

White died Sept. 24, 2015, in a house Carrey owned, but her body wasn't discovered until friends found her Sept. 28, Michael Avenatti, Burton's attorney, said in an interview.

Carrey and White had dated on and off since 2012, according to the Associated Press and other news accounts. By 2015, she was living in a house he owned.

In his 15-page lawsuit, Burton accuses Carrey of conspiring with a doctor to obtain the sleeping aid Ambien, beta-blocker propranolol and opioid Percocet, or oxycodone, under the false name Arthur King.

Carrey gave the medications to White even though he knew she suffered from depression and had attempted suicide in the past, according to the lawsuit.

Burton also claims that Carrey was obsessed "with controlling and manipulating" White and had surveillance cameras at her house "to keep track of White's comings and goings."

Carrey's assistant allegedly saw White enter the house Sept. 24 but never come out. Neither he nor his assistant alerted authorities, the lawsuit says.

Burton alleges that, instead, Carey sent "a bogus text message" to White on Sept. 27 "insinuating" that she might have made off with his "misplaced" drugs, "when in reality Carrey knew full well that he had voluntarily and illegally provided the fraudulently obtained and prescribed drugs to White days prior."

The lawsuit asks why Carrey did not ask law enforcement to check on White if he truly thought his depressed girlfriend had stolen the powerful drugs.

After her death, "Carrey and his handlers" allegedly publicized his promise to pay for White's funeral in an attempt to portray him as "a grieving, good guy," according to the lawsuit.

"In reality, Carrey never paid a dime of funeral expenses," Burton says.

Burton is seeking damages, punitive damages and attorney's fees from Carrey for wrongful death and violation of California's strict Drug Dealer Liability Act, which allows a relative to sue someone who furnishes "illegal controlled substance" to a user. Burton also plans to ask for "a pre-judgment attachment of Carrey's assets, including his Gulfstream V private jet," under the drug dealer act, the lawsuit states.

Avenatti, of Eagan Avenatti in Newport Beach, filed the lawsuit Monday and drew attention to it on Twitter, stating he would ask the Los Angeles District Attorneys to look into Carrey's role in White's death.

By the end of the day, both Carrey and his attorney — well-known entertainment lawyer Martin Singer of Lavely & Singer — had sent out statements rebutting the allegations.

Carrey called the lawsuit "a terrible shame."

Carrey acknowledged that he could get the suit dismissed by meeting with Burton's attorney, but added that, "there are some moments in life when you have to stand up and defend your honor against the evil in this world."

"Cat's troubles were born long before I met her and sadly her tragic end was beyond anyone's control," he wrote.

In his seven-paragraph statement, Singer labeled the lawsuit "an outlandish shakedown" and denied that Carrey offered to pay for White's funeral. Her death "is a tragedy that is being exploited in a completely meritless lawsuit in pursuit of a payday," Singer wrote.

Singer also questioned Burton's relationship with the young woman, pointing out that she was a noncitizen who faced returning to Ireland when she and Burton married.

The couple never lived together and were in different states when she died, Singer said, adding that Burton never offered to pay for the funeral.

Finally, he said Carrey's use of a false name for prescription drugs is "a routine practice" for famous people "with the knowledge of their doctors and insurers" to protect their privacy.

Avenatti responded to the statements with a statement of his own.

Carrey's explanation of what happened "makes no sense and defies logic," the attorney wrote. "And all the while, he of course ignores the fact that the drugs were in a false name, which is itself a criminal violation of federal and state law."

In another Twitter post, Avenatti added that "there is no 'celebrity exception'" to the drug laws. "It is not legal to get drugs in another name," he said.

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