- Associated Press - Tuesday, September 21, 2010

DETROIT (AP) - Aretha Franklin’s son was severely beaten at a gas station in Detroit, the singing legend’s spokeswoman said Tuesday.


Quinn told The Associated Press early Tuesday morning she didn’t have any information beyond the written statement.


Quinn’s statement said Franklin was undergoing surgery early Tuesday, but Detroit police said he wasn’t at the hospital when investigators stopped by.

They were told Franklin “walked out on his own,” Stephens said.

The AP left multiple messages for Quinn on Tuesday, seeking updated information. A hospital spokeswoman confirmed someone named Eddie Franklin was treated there but wasn’t able to offer details.

Stephens said it wasn’t entirely clear what had happened and investigators want to talk to Franklin.

“We really need to talk to him, because he’s the one who was assaulted,” she said. “We would advise him to come in and make (a report), but it’s voluntary.”



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.
