James Brown Is Still At Home

01/10/07 6:30pm

Though soul godfather James Brown died on Christmas, his body remains in his home as his heirs discuss issues about his estate.

Brown died in an Atlanta hospital of heart failure at age 73, and his body was on display at memorial services at New York City's Apollo Theatre, a church in North Augusta, South Carolina and at the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia in the days following his death. He now lies in a sealed casket under the watchful eyes of security guards in a controlled temperature room in his home on Beech Island, S.C., where it was delivered on Dec. 30.

Brown's home was locked almost immediately after his death to protect his memorabilia, furniture, clothes and other personal items.

"Items of James Brown would have left there like items off the shelves of Macy's in an after-Christmas sale," said lawyer Buddy Dallas in an Associated Press article.

Tomi Rae Hynie, Brown's partner (it's in dispute whether she was legally married to him) and one of his backing singers, claimed that she was locked out of the house that she says she shared with Brown and their five-year-old son. The paternity of the boy may also be in question, according to some sources.

"The hope is that all parties can sit down and figure out what the problem is and what the challenges are," Hynie's attorney, Thornton Morris, told AP. "And once we figure out what the challenges are, we'll see if we can't resolve something that's a win for everybody."

Brown's children and trustees for his will are trying to decide where the legendary entertainer will be buried. The will has yet to be filed.

Meanwhile, a woman who claims that she was raped by Brown in 1988 has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her sexual harassment lawsuit. A lower court ruled last year that she had waited too long to file the suit.

"As a rape victim, I will never get to face him in court, and it hurts," Jacque Hollander told AP. "We filed against his organization as well as him. So now his organization stands in front of him."

Hollander is seeking $106 million U.S. in damages, as she claims that Brown raped her at gunpoint while she was his publicist. Brown's lawyers have denied her allegations.