John Travolta and Kelly Preston’s son Jett, 16, passed away in early January after suffering a seizure and hitting his head in the bathroom at his parents’ vacation home in the Bahamas. The family has only stated publicly that their son suffered from Kawasaki Syndrome, a chemically-induced childhood disorder that does not explain all of Jett’s symptoms. Jett was nonverbal and has been photographed walking on his tip toes. There was speculation that he was autistic, although that was never confirmed by the Travoltas.

Jett’s death was controversial due to the fact that his parents are members of the Church of Scientology, which does not believe in psychiatric illness and strongly discourages followers from using any form of psychiatric drugs. Fellow Scientologists maintain that physical illnesses, like autism, are permitted to be treated under their belief system. The Travoltas say they did treat Jett’s seizures with the drug Depakote, but that it simply stopped working for him after several years and he was taken off it under the guidance of a neurologist. What’s more is that Jett had a full time nanny, but the man wasn’t thought to be trained in childcare and works as a photographer.

It’s unlikely that we’ll ever know if Jett would have had the seizure that led to his death if he was on another drug or if someone with formal training was watching him. There’s been enough speculation about his death by people who aren’t affected by it. His parents are probably heartbroken wondering if there was anything they could have done differently to have saved their son.

Now there’s news that two people in the Bahamas, including a “politician” who may be involved in the investigation into Jett’s death, have tried to extort millions from the Travoltas. It’s unknown what kind of damning information they claim to have:

John Travolta lawyers fighting extortion demands made after the death of son Jett.

Bahamas based newspaper, TheTribune, reported police are investigating two co-conspirators “one believed to be a politician” in an ongoing investigation.

Travolta’s attorneys, Mike Ossi and Howard Butler, released a statement in Jacksonville, Florida after returning from the Bahamas: “Regrettably in a time of such terrible grief there are often a few individuals who attempt to make false claims in hopes of making millions of dollars.

“We will never let that happen.”

Ossi and Butler’s said they have “the utmost confidence in the Bahamian police and government” as it investigates the alleged extortion attempt.

The barristers then declined further comment.

John Travolta and Kelly Preston’s son Jett,15, died at their Grand Bahama vacation home. Official cause of death was listed as “seizure” after the teen was found unconscious in the Travolta family bathroom.

[From The National Enquirer’s website]

Initial reports by TMZ, which were said to have been confirmed by Bahamian police, had Jett hitting his head in the bathroom the night before he was discovered. The family strongly denied these claims and said he suffered the accident in the morning not long before he was found.

The entire investigation is now compromised by this extortion attempt. If the police had any information that may cast doubt on the Travolta’s account of Jett’s death, it’s not like they’re going to be able to do much with the case now that it’s been tainted. Blackmail from an official will pretty much negate any findings that may implicate the Travoltas and cast doubt on the integrity of all the evidence. So now we have a grieving family that has to endure these claims, whatever they may be, and an investigation that’s shot.

John Travolta and Kelly Preston are shown at The Oscars last year. Credit: WENN