Dennis Edwards
Dennis Edwards (Wikipedia photo)
Detroit native Dennis Edwards, the Grammy-winning member of the Temptations, died last week in Chicago at age 74. His wife told the media that the cause of death was complications from meningitis, an acute inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
Chicago police spokeswoman Laura Amezaga on Tuesday said, according to The Detroit News: “It’s an open and ongoing investigation at this time,”
Edwards died Thursday at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center. In the end, he was living in a luxury high-rise on Michigan Ave. in Chicago.
Though his wife said it was the result of meningitis, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said the agency did an autopsy and still is investigating the "manner and cause of death," according to the article by Susan Whitall and Orlandar Brand-Williams, who write:
An emergency protection order filed in January by the Health Care Consortium of Illinois, which investigates elder abuse cases for the state, alleges the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee suffered from neglect and abuse at the hands of his wife, Brenda Edwards, 60, in the last months of his life.
In a statement released Tuesday to The Detroit News via a publicist, Brenda Edwards disputed the accusations: “I loved Dennis and we were married for 18 years. I would have never done anything to harm him. These allegations are false and defamatory and will be proven as such. Until this is all over, I have no further comment.”
Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin. He was with the group, on and off, until 1989.
