Legendary entertainer James Brown’s death has resurfaced questions and allegations, and CNN reported that missing evidence in the case has been found. Now Brown’s estate’s attorneys are asking the FBI to intervene.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in Atlanta has reportedly located potential evidence turned over to them in 2020 by Jacque Hollander, an associate of the late singer. The contents of a green plastic bin, which included a black stiletto shoe and a handwritten note, were said to hold proof that Brown’s cause of death was murder.
Since the discovery, Hollander’s attorney, Michael Iasparro, has requested that the FBI further investigate the ominous happenings surrounding the case. “What happened to James Brown is he was murdered for money,” Hollander said of the funk pioneer’s death.
It was this belief that led Hollander to submit that green bin to the office of then-District Attorney Paul Howard in 2020, according to ESSENCE. Howard promised that a team of investigators would interview six potential witnesses, named by Hollander, and then decide how to proceed. However, Howard’s successor, Fani Willis, chose to close any further inquiries into the case the following year, the outlet reports.
When Hollander submitted a request to have all evidence returned to her possession, a response was given from the district attorney’s office that was followed by insufficient action.
“We have shipped the items requested,” Assistant Chief of Evidence William Chris Clark allegedly responded. However, Hollander claims that instead of receiving the original items, she received a cardboard box filled with newspaper clippings and two cell phones she did not recognize.
In early 2023, after Hollander sued the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, her evidence was returned seemingly untouched.
“You can tell that no one ever even looked at this evidence,” she said. Still, questions remain about the DA office’s conduct regarding the items and the circumstances surrounding Brown’s death, which the FBI contends it is not at liberty to answer.
“Department of Justice policy prevents the FBI from commenting on the existence, non-existence, or nature of any investigation that may be occurring,” said Special Agent and Public Affairs Officer Siobhan Johnson.