Rumors flew yesterday that Chris Henry was dead, but they were wrong. They were, unfortunately, prescient, as the life of the trouble Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver ended at 6:36 AM Thursday, after a Wednesday domestic dispute. Henry was 26.
Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry was pronounced dead less thatn 24 hours after he suffered serious injuries after falling out of the back of a pickup truck in Charlotte, NC. Reports describe it as a domestic dispute with his fiancee, Loleini Tonga, 25. "Loleini Tonga pics" have become a top search term because of this.
Chris Henry was already on injured reserve and done for the season because of a broken forearm. He had been rushed to the hospital Wednesday after being found on a residential road, and Twitter posts proclaimed "Chris Henry Dead," though the rumors were false. He was apparently on life-support, however.
It is unclear what the domestic dispute from Wednesday was, but pPolice say a dispute began at a home about a half-mile away from where Chris Henry was found, and that he had jumped into the pickup truck bed as what is believed, but not confirmed, to be his fiancee was driving away from the residence. It appears from her Myspace page (Loleini Tonga pic from MySpace attached) that the two were happy. She called herself "Mrs. C. Henry" on her page, and the news that Chris Henry is dead must be hitting her and her family hard.
Chris Henry had been a somewhat trouble player, off the field. The Bengals, in fact, had dropped him after his fifth arrest following the 2007 season. He was brought back, over the protests of the coach, Marvin Lewis, by owner Mike Brown. Henry has been "clean" since then, and credited Loleini Tonga for that.
In fact, The Cincinnati Enquirer interviewed Chris Henry in October. The paper quoted his as acknowledging that Loleini Tonga had helped him straighten out his life. He said, "She's been a big help. She's been right here with me and going through things and helping out on my side. We have the kids, and she has my back with everything I've needed." The couple is raising 3 children together.
In terms of any charges, police said Wednesday there would be none filed that day. However, they also indicated on Thursday, in a statement regarding the news that Chris Henry was dead, that "Detectives continue to work diligently on this active investigation."
The Bengals are 9-4 and lead the AFC North. They play host to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. There has been no official post on their website at this time regarding the news that Chris Henry is dead; their last post appears to have been at 6 AM this morning, prior to his death.
Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com
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