March 12, 2010 12:19

James Brown's body goes missing, according to his daughter

LaRhonda Pettit says 'My daddy's body has disappeared'

James Brown's body has been stolen, according to his reported love child LaRhonda Pettit.

The soul legend's body was put in a crypt after his death on Christmas Day in 2006. Since then it has been kept at his daughter Deanna's house in South Carolina while a public mausoleum was being prepared.

Pettit has now claimed the body has gone missing. Consequently, she says she is being denied the opportunity to carry out an autopsy to determine Brown's true cause of death, reports the Daily Mirror.

"My daddy's body has disappeared. I have no clue where it was taken, but I need to know where," Pettit explained.

She added: "I'm convinced his death was suspicious and I want the people responsible brought to justice. The only way to do that is to exhume his body and have an autopsy. I cannot understand why one was never conducted."

Brown died in Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia of congestive heart failure and pneumonia.

Pettit is one of several people to come forward after his death claiming to be his love child. She was not named as a beneficiary in his will.