Jimi Hendrix Murdered?

Above, Jimi Hendrix (center) with Noel Redding (left) and Mitch Mitchell.

The Times of London has an article about a forthcoming book on the death of rock icon Jimi Hendrix. It theorizes that Hendrix was murdered.

The article states:

The doctor who attempted to revive Jimi Hendrix on the night that the guitarist died believes that it is “plausible” that he was murdered.

John Bannister said that medical evidence was consistent with claims in a book that Hendrix was killed on the orders of his manager, Mike Jeffery.

James “Tappy” Wright, a former road manager who worked for Jeffery, writes in his new memoir, Rock Roadie, that in the early hours of September 18, 1970, a gang hired by Jeffery broke into the London hotel room where Hendrix was staying with his girlfriend, Monika Dannemann, and forced sleeping pills and wine down his throat until he drowned.

Hendrix was staying at Dannemann's London flat and was sleeping when (according to her story) Dannemann left to go buy cigarettes. When she returned, she found Hendrix unconscious with vomit flowing from his mouth. She claims she panicked and called Eric Burdon of The Animals who screamed into the phone, "Call an ambulance!" She finally did when it was too late. Hendrix was taken to St. Mary Abbott's Hospital in the Paddington area of London where he was pronounced dead after efforts to revive him failed.

Longtime reporter and Hendrix friend, Sharon Lawrence, published her own book, Jimi Hendrix: The Man, The Music, The Truth, in which she came to the conclusion that Hendrix committed suicide. Hendrix's "personal number" was nine, and it was determined by Lawrence (after talking to Dannemann) that Hendrix took nine Verperax pills that Dannemann had in her apartment. As the number nine meant a lot to Hendrix, the taking of nine pills had to have been intentional, according to Lawrence.

Hendrix's manager, Michael Jeffrey, was a source of frustration for Hendrix as he was ineffective in fighting off a myriad of lawsuits and mishandling the band. Hendrix was said to be depressed over his finances at the time of his death.

Jeffrey died in a plane crash on March 5, 1973 when two Spanish planes collided over France.

It was found that Hendrix died of vomit inhalation from Barbiturate intoxication. Those nine Verperax pills were washed down with wine. Hendrix is buried in Renton, Washington.

This should be an interesting book to read. To read the full article, go here.