A movie producer pal of late actor David Carradine has come forward with shocking new claims the KILL BILL star was murdered by gender-bender hookers.

Carradine's naked body was found bound and hanging in a closet in a Bangkok, Thailand hotel room on 4 June (09). Initial reports suggested the star accidentally took his own life, and an independent autopsy has ruled out suicide.

But foul play has not been ruled out and Carradine's friend David Winters, who produced three of the actor's less-known martial arts movies, insists he was the victim of Bangkok's Lady Boys - and local police are trying to cover up the truth.

He tells America's Globe, "David Carradine was murdered... I strongly believe Lady Boys are responsible. Lady Boys operate in pairs. David would not have stood a chance. They can be very brutal."

His theory ties in with reports Carradine's death was sex related.

Winters is now calling for Bangkok authorities to release hotel surveillance video, which may provide clues as to who Carradine spent his final hours with.

He says, "I want to see those tapes. My suspicion is they've already been doctored."

And a retired FBI agent, who has been hired by the Globe to look into the Carradine case, agrees with Winters' murder theory.

Ted Gunderson says, "I believe he (Carradine) met two Lady Boys in the hotel bar... They are flirtatious, desperate for money and would have zeroed in on a celebrity like Carradine."

Gunderson is convinced the hookers drugged Carradine, hanged him and then set about staging what would look like a suicide.

Like Winters, Gunderson insists a reported mystery footprint on Carradine's bed is the biggest clue in the case.

He adds, "One of the Lady Boys may have stepped behind him, looped a length of rope around Carradine's neck and strangled him."