The son of Aretha Franklin was savagely beaten at a Detroit gas station, according to a spokeswoman for the Queen of Soul.
Eddie Franklin, 52, was undergoing surgery after the beating Monday night, said Gendolyn Quinn. The statement says three people may have been involved in the beating but didn't have any additional information beyond the statement.
According to ABC 7 in Detroit, a witness told cops three suspects, two males and one female may have been responsible for the attack. Detroit Police said they were looking into the matter but had no other information.
Eddie Franklin made a guest appearance on his mother’s latest release earlier his year, singing “His Eye Is On the Sparrow” on the the 12-track CD “A Woman Falling Out of Love.” He was a suspect in a 2002 fire at a $1.6 million Detroit-area mansion his mother used for storage, but was later cleared of suspicion.
Aretha Franklin 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.
Selected Reading: The Associated Press, Detroit Free Press, Aretha-Franklin.com.
