Police Seek Aretha Franklin's Son Following Beating
It's another strange twist to a story involving Aretha Franklin's son. Detroit police now say they are looking for Eddie Franklin following reports that he was attacked at a westside Detroit gas station.
Earlier Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Aretha Franklin released a statement confirming the beating. Gwendolyn Quinn said that Franklin, who's in his 50s, was attacked Monday night, and that three people may have been involved in the beating.
Quinn said she didn't have any additional information beyond the statement.
According to an eyewitness, there were three accomplices — two males and one female, all African Americans. The woman was about 19 years-old, with a short hair cut, brown skin complexion, wearing blue jeans with a hoodie type jacket. One of the males was around six feet tall, with a dark complexion and dreadlocks.
WWJ's Vickie Thomas spoke with an attendant at the gas station where the beating took place. According to the attendant, a woman, with Franklin at the time of the incident, came into the station screaming.
Franklin was taken to the hospital by an acquaintance, where he underwent surgery, and was released.
Police spokeswoman Eren Stephens said Franklin "walked out on his own," and was not at the hospital when investigators arrived.
Stephens said investigators want to talk to Eddie Franklin about the circumstances of the incident.
Police are not saying what led to the beating. Tuesday afternoon, they were still interviewing witnesses. There have been no arrests.
A waitress at Mary's Grill One on Plymouth Road says Eddy Franklin is a regular at the restaurant. Kelly Bowlds told WWJ Franklin comes in every morning for coffee.
"The first thing, honestly, that went through my mind was 'what's Aretha Franklin's son doin' on Plymouth.' But then, when I seen the picture, I'm like 'Wait! That's one of my regulars,'" Bowlds said.
"And then it kinds like hurt my feelings because he's a nice guy. He's really not violent at all, not from what I see..he's very quiet, timid, shy," she said.
Aretha Franklin, 68, known as the Queen of Soul, is one of the most honored musicians in American history, having won numerous Grammys, the National Medal of Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Eddie Franklin was considered a suspect in a 2002 arson fire at his mother's 10,000-square-foot suburban Detroit home, but Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox's office never charged him.
Eddie Franklin's lawyer at the time, William Mitchell III, described him Tuesday as someone who needs a lot of "support care - people to get him around from this place to that place'' but did not explain exactly what that meant.
"Mrs. Franklin is very, very, very, very, very protective of him,'' Mitchell added.
Eddie Franklin also is a singer, having recorded in the past with his mother.
Copyright, 2010. WWJ Radio. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
