Bertha Franklin, the motel manager who fatally shot Sam Cooke, claimed self-defense and was not charged. She later faced a wrongful death lawsuit from Cooke’s family but was ultimately acquitted.
In the early hours of December 11, 1964, Sam Cooke was shot and killed by Bertha Franklin, the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles. The incident occurred after a dispute in which Cooke, according to Franklin, attacked her in her office, wearing nothing but a sports jacket and shoes. Franklin maintained that she shot Cooke in self-defense after he broke into her living quarters and physically assaulted her.
The police investigation concluded that Franklin had acted in self-defense and no criminal charges were filed against her. However, Cooke’s family was not satisfied with the verdict and filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Franklin, as well as the motel’s owner. The case went to court, but the jury ultimately sided with Franklin, upholding her self-defense claim.
The circumstances surrounding Cooke’s death have been the subject of much speculation and controversy over the years. Some have questioned the official account, suggesting that there might have been a conspiracy to murder Cooke, who was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement and the music industry. Despite various theories and the passage of time, the official record still states that Bertha Franklin shot Sam Cooke in self-defense, and she was never legally held responsible for his death. Franklin’s own life was deeply affected by the incident; she reported receiving numerous threats after the shooting and eventually relocated to a different part of the country to escape the notoriety and backlash.