Andrew Embiricos, Grandson of Rita Hayworth, Found Dead, But Was it Suicide or S&M Gone Wrong?

Andrew Embiricos, the grandson of Hollywood screen legend Rita Hayworth, was found dead in his New York City apartment in what police are calling an apparent suicide, but was it really suicide?

According to Village Voice reporter Michael Musto, who knew Embiricos from the scene in New York, it was not suicide but an experiment in S&M gone wrong.

Police said 25-year-old Andrew Ali Aga Khan Embiricos was found dead on Sunday night around 9 p.m. in his apartment in Chelsea. Embiricos was pronounced dead at the scene in an apparent suicide, suffocated with a bag over his head.

The medical examiner's office said the cause of death is pending results from an autopsy and no crime was suspected, but Musto believes Embiricos' death was caused by experimenting with autoeroric asphyxiation.

I'll tell you one thing, though: Andrew was extremely kinky, Musto wrote in an article in the Village Voice. Isn't it possible that Andrew was experimenting with autoerotic asphyxiation?

According to Musto, it is not surprising that Embiricos would experiment with S&M, particularly with asphyxia, which offers a euphoric high when the brain is lacking oxygen. Autoerotic asphyxiation involved strangling or suffocating oneself in order to experience sexual arousal through lack of oxygen.

Medicine Net calls the practice a deadly turn-on, as some who experiment with asphyxia unintentionally commit suicide by accidently strangling themselves.

For example, film star David Carradine died in 2009 of what was speculated to be suicide but was actually accidental asphyxiation, according to a medical examiner and autopsy. He was found hanging in hanging in the closet of a hotel in Bangkok with his hands tied above his head.

Musto said Embiricos tried far wilder things just for breakfast, and said he had pornographic videos on Xtube under a fake name. Also, although he had tried suicide previously, he seemed cheerful leading up to his death and did not leave a suicide note.

Andrew Embiricos was found by a friend, 33-year-old Aaron Edwards on Sunday. Edwards told the New York Daily News he went looking for his friend after he missed scheduled appointments for the day and instead found him lying face up with a bag over his head.

Edwards immediately phoned the police upon discovering Embiricos dead in his bed at The Grand Chelsea.

Embiricos was the grandson of silver-screen star Rita Hayworth, famous for her roles in 1940's films such as Gilda and Dante's Inferno. Hayworth married Prince Aly Aga Khan in 1949.

Embiricos was born to Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, Hayworth's daughter, and shipping heir Basil Embiricos, whom she later divorced.

Embiricos attended Fordham University for psychology and worked as a sales executive for Virgin Atlantic Airways. He also founded a charity group for the homeless on Facebook and followed his mother's path working with charities for HIV/AIDS groups and the Alzheimer's Association, a disease his grandmother died of in 1987 at age 68.

Musto said in the Village Voice article that Embiricos had been battling HIV and drug addiction with stints in rehab but radiated charm no matter what crisis he was weathering.

I'm deeply saddened by the loss of someone with such radioactive charisma, Michael Musto wrote.

Embiricos' uncle, Prince Karim Aga Khan, the leader of 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims worldwide, issued a statement through his head of communications, Kris Janowski, following the death.

We do not know what happened yet, and we would appreciate everyone's privacy for the family, Janowski said.