Ving Rhames Speaks Up About Caretaker's Death

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (August 17, 2007) â€" Ving Rhames has broken his silence over the death of his caretaker, Jacob Adams, who was found dead on the actor's front lawn on August 3.

Rhames spoke to People about the incident, in an effort to "set the record straight" on the details of the tragedy, specifically in regards to reports that Adams was mauled to death by Rhames' dogs.

"If I was out of town, Jacob would take care of my properties," said Rhames, who was on location for a shoot in Bulgaria when he heard the news. "I was stunned because Jacob knew my dogs. He took care of them. When I found out, I was shocked, especially when I read that they said my dogs mauled him."

The dogs, reportedly mastiffs, were described by police as being "large" but "normally pretty friendly."

"My dogs are family dogs," Rhames told People. "Jacob didn't have any bites on his face or neck. He had scratches to the middle of his torso as if the dogs were trying to pull him over."

"He had a few bite marks on his arms and legs," Rhames continued, "but there were only two imprints on the top and two on the bottom meaning the dogs didn't clamp down on him in an aggressive fashion."

Rhames said that police and the coroner told him they had ruled out the dogs and a possible heart attack as cause of death about a week into their investigation.

"There was such a lack of blood at the scene," Rhames explained. "They think possibly an aneurysm in the brain. They're doing a toxicology report. They will know [the results] in six to eight weeks. Closure for me will be when the coroner says what was the cause of death."

Rhames has since had the dogs returned to him after their being taken into custody, but he plans on relocating them to friend's estate in Texas.

"God forbid that I'm outside with my dogs and they look at a person and the person wants to sue me," he remarked.

Adams first met Rhames on a movie set years ago, when he served as a stand-in for the actor, and they developed a "good friendship."

"He was much more than a caretaker," Rhames said. "He really became a member of the family. He was at my mother's birthdays, my children's birthdays. He was the person I could trust."

Rhames described his coping with the loss as "still surrealistic," adding, "It's almost like his spirit is still here."

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