A new investigation by CNN has raised the theory that iconic funk musician James Brown may have died as a result of foul play.
Back on Christmas day 2006, the music world was shocked to learn that the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, had died at the age of 73.
With a career stretching over 50 years, Brown’s death was officially listed as congestive heart failure, which arose due to complications with pneumonia.
While fans were undoubtedly heartbroken at this news, there wasn’t much speculation placed into the circumstances of Brown’s death.
However, a new investigation that spans over two years has now put forward the theory that James Brown might have actually been murdered.
According to a new story by CNN, reporter Thomas Lake was approached in 2017 by Jacques Hollander, who had previously claimed that James Brown sexually assaulted her in the late ’80s, and had raised questions about Brown’s death in the past.
Hollander claimed to have details about Brown’s death, though she revealed she had not come forward previously due to being fearful for her own life. Along with this claim, Hollander also alleged that Brown’s third wife, Adrienne Rodriguez, was also murdered in suspicious circumstances.
Check out James Brown’s ‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag’:
What followed was an exhaustive investigation by CNN, including interviews with nearly 140 people, forensic tests, thousands of pages of police records, and numerous records of text messages.
One of the people who appears to be on board with the murder theory is Dr. Marvin Crawford, who signed James Brown’s death certificate after he passed away. Dr. Crawford explained in an interview with CNN that “he has always been suspicious of foul play.”
“He changed too fast. He was a patient I would never have predicted would have coded… But he died that night, and I did raise that question: ‘What went wrong in that room?’”
A number of James Brown’s close friends and associates are reportedly on board with this investigation, including Andre White, who was so immensely suspicious that he smuggled out a sample of blood from Brown’s IV tube.
While others raised suspicions that ranged from Brown’s daughter Yamma declining an autopsy, to her sister Deanna Brown Thomas not disclosing the location of her father’s remains, even James Brown’s manager thought the story was a bit shifty.
According to Frank Copsidas, only Brown’s personal manager Charles Bobbit was in the room at the time of his death, with Copsidas referring to Bobbit’s story as “a little vague”.
While there’s no word yet as to how far much truth this investigation has uncovered, it seems that over 13 years since his death, James Brown is still getting us talking about his wild life.
Check out James Brown’s ‘The Payback’:
