Was Funk-Soul Legend James Brown Murdered?

Over the past two years, CNN has made an effort to investigate the death of soul godfather James Brown, who is said to have died of congestive heart failure following complications from pneumonia. The real suspicion came from the fact that Brown’s body is currently in an unknown location, with no post-death autopsy being properly administered, and an even more mysterious facade surrounding the singer and his personal life. Now, the doctor who pronounced him dead, a close friend who retains a vial of his blood claiming it could help in the investigation, and Brown’s widow Tomirae Brown, are calling for an investigation and/or autopsy.

After the release of a three-part report that interviewed and convened with over 140 of Brown’s closest network, many suspect that Brown had been murdered. In fact, CNN journalist Thomas Lake – who wrote the report — states that “there are legitimate questions about James Brown’s death that can only be answered by an autopsy and a criminal investigation.” 11 of Brown’s closest associates have told Lake that the case needs to be reinvestigated.

The story ultimately revolves around various evidence accumulated by Jacquelyn Hollander, who once was a member of Brown’s circle until she was allegedly raped by Brown in 1988. Since the incident, she has been collecting various paper trails on Brown and his associates, which CNN used to verify her claims.

According to Hollander, Brown’s former wife Adrienne Brown also came forth with charges against him but was forced to drop them after claiming she was intimidated by men working for Brown. Brown’s family claims she died in 1996 after accidentally overdosing from painkillers following plastic surgery. Yet, even Adrienne’s case seems shady, with a former police informant who worked on her case claiming she was murdered by her doctor — alleging the doctor snuck into their residence and replaced the painkillers with drugs in order to kill her.

Dr. Crawford, the attending physician who pronounced James Brown dead in 2006, stated in the report he “never believed” Brown died in a natural manner. Crawford stated in the report that Brown “was a patient I would have never predicted would have coded. But he died that night, and I did raise that question…What went wrong in that room?”

As of now, Brown’s daughter Deanna Brown Thomas has yet to confirm whether or not his remains are actually in his tomb.

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