A three-part investigative series by CNN is raising questions about the death of legendary singer and performer James Brown. The extensive report suggests Brown was murdered in 2006.
As you may know, James Brown died on Dec 25, 2006. At the time, it was reported that the artist died of congestive heart failure. The CNN report however, claims over a dozen people who knew Brown, including his manager, widow, son, and friends are calling for a criminal investigation into his death.
“He changed too fast,” Dr. Marvin Crawford, who signed Brown’s death certificate at an Atlanta, said. “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?”
CNN spoke to over 140 of Brown’s associates over the span of two years. The news investigation reportedly began in 2017 after a circus singer named Jacquelyn Hollander called a reporter alleging to have information about Brown’s death. She claimed to have worked with Brown as a songwriter in the 80s. Their relationship turned sour however when Brown allegedly raped her. But after the incident, she began saving evidence relating to the singer and his friends.
She reportedly collected numerous boxes of documents and tapes over the course of three decades. CNN reportedly examined tens of thousands of pages of police and court records, analysis of more than 1,300 pages of text messages from Hollander’s iPhone, and the forensic testing of a woman’s shoe in a mysterious black duffel bag.
The report also examines the death of Brown’s third wife, Adrienne Brown, who died in 1995 while recovering from plastic surgery. Although police say there was no sign of foul play, a friend alleged she was killed. Like Hollander, Adrienne alleged her ex-husband’s team was spying on her. Days before her death, Adrienne allegedly contacted her divorce attorney Robert Harte and said she was afraid for her life.
In 2017, newly revealed writings by a police informant named Linda Bennett claim Adrienne Brown was killed by a doctor unconnected to the cosmetic surgeries. Her notes contain a detailed confession by the doctor, who allegedly replaced her prescriptions with drugs to kill her. The doctor denied the allegations when contacted by CNN.
Hours after James Brown’s death, Dr. Crawford said he recommended an autopsy, but the singer’s daughter, Yamma Brown declined. When questioned about that decision by CNN, she did not offer an explanation. CNN also asked Brown’s other daughter, Deanna Brown Thomas, about an allegation that Brown’s crypt was empty, but she would not comment.