Mother of Getty heir's girlfriend says he had brain aneurysm

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Heir to Getty oil fortune found dead in LA home at age 47

Coroner says Andrew Getty's death appears to be from natural causes

The mother of oil heir Andrew Getty's on-again, off-again girlfriend said Wednesday that he had recently been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm as it emerged that Getty had sought a restraining order against her daughter weeks before his death.

Getty, 47, was found dead in his home in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon. Law enforcement officials believe that Getty died of natural causes, but have cautioned that a final determination will not be made until the results of toxicology tests come back.

Marilynne DeJonge told the Associated Press that Getty had told her daughter, Lanessa, about his diagnoses. Getty obtained a restraining order against Lanessa, 32, last month. His request made note of unspecified behavior by her and arguments between them, and expressed concern about the effect they were having on his health.

"My doctors have advised that heated arguments can cause my blood pressure to rise dangerously," Getty wrote in court papers. The Los Angeles Times reported, citing the documents, that Getty was diagnosed with the condition in the fall of 2013.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told the AP that DeJonge had recently moved back into her room at Getty's house. The law enforcement official said she came and went as she pleased despite the active restraining order, which the official said wasn't unusual in some relationships.

Marilynne DeJonge said her daughter met Getty in 2008 at his request after he had seen some modeling photos of her. She said Lanessa depended on Getty for housing and had no phone; she also cooked for him.
  "He was an extremely intelligent man," DeJonge said through tears. "He was going to the doctors for a long time. ... He didn't take good care of himself and our daughter was trying to get him on health foods, and all he had was candy bars around."
  She added that her daughter was "very young and naive and patient and tolerant" but "gets upset just like anybody else would when things go crazy."

Los Angeles County coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter said Tuesday that Getty had not been feeling well for the last couple months and had a doctor's appointment Wednesday. A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told AP he had recently complained of stomach pains.

Police said that Lanessa DeJonge found Getty in his bathroom surrounded by large amounts of blood. The Los Angeles Times reported that Getty was naked from the waist down. An official told the Associated Press that prescription medications were found at his home.

Andrew Getty was the grandson of J. Paul Getty, founder of the took over his father's oil business and built it into Getty Oil, a multinational conglomerate with holdings all over the world.
  At one time the richest person in the world, Jean Paul Getty was married five times, reportedly had countless lovers and had five sons by four of his wives. His youngest son, Timothy, died of a brain tumor at 12. His oldest son, George, died in 1973.
  A prominent art collector, he bequeathed much of his personal fortune to The Getty, which has created one of the world's premier museums, with a sprawling campus on a Los Angeles mountaintop, and the Getty Villa -- built under Getty's own direction in Malibu. Getty died in 1976 at age 82.

Getty's father, Gordon Getty, who confirmed his son's death late Tuesday, had a brush with scandal in 1999 he acknowledged having a second family in Los Angeles that included three daughters. The acknowledgement came after the daughters filed court papers to change their last names to Getty. Gordon Getty had four sons, including Andrew, with his wife Ann.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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