Bobby Brown Charged With Battery...

[From AFP]

Whitney Houston becomes battered wife as husband faces charges
Thu Dec 11, 2:52 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The rocky marriage of singing sensation Whitney Houston (news), whose popular tunes include "Love is a Contact Sport," has suffered another jolt after her husband, singer Bobby Brown (news), was formally charged with beating her in the couple's home in a posh Atlanta suburb.

Fulton County police spokesman Kurtis Young said the altercation inside the mansion near Alpharetta, Georgia, had forced the world-famous diva to plead for help in a frantic emergency call to police.

"That's why a report was filed, and that's an issue of domestic violence," Young told Fox News Channel.

A portion of the police report obtained by AFP said Houston had returned home at approximately 8:20 pm Sunday (0120 GMT Monday) and was confronted by her husband.

The reason for the argument was not mentioned, but the marriage of 13 years has had a number of rough patches before.

The report quoted Houston as saying that Brown had threatened to "beat her a.." and then struck the left side of her face with an open right hand.

"The victim had visible injuries to her face, which included a bruise on her left cheek approximately one inch in diameter and a cut upper lip," the document went on to say.

Houston told police that Brown, 34, left home five minutes later and headed for the airport to catch a flight to Los Angeles, according to the report. But it was not immediately clear whether he had actually left Georgia.

In any case, he was persuaded to turn himself in and appeared in Fulton County Magistrate Court on Wednesday to face domestic violence charges, police officials said.

"According to how the proceedings went, he did not deny anything that happened at that particular time as the charges were filed," said Young.

The police spokesman declined to say what kind of punishment Brown could face if found guilty of battery, but made clear authorities were taking the case seriously in light of evidence of bodily harm.

Houston and Brown have separately retained attorneys in apparent preparation for a legal fight, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday quoted Brown's lawyer, Maurice Bennett, as saying the couple was "trying to work it out, as we speak, as husband and wife."

Sunday's brush with the law was by far not the first for Brown.

In August he served a week in jail for a probation violation stemming from a 1996 drunk driving conviction.

The singer, who began his climb to fame in the 1980s with the rythm-and-blues group New Edition, was imprisoned for nearly a month in Florida in 2000 for another probation violation in connection with the same case.

Meanwhile, Houston's career has been plagued by admitted drug and alcohol abuse in the past.
 

NEWSFILE: 11 DECEMBER 2003

RETURN TO NEWSFILE REPORTS

n a v i g a t e  c l a s s i c  w h i t n e y
HOME
Introduction
Biography
FAQ

Webrings
INFORMATION
Newsfile
Archive
Newsfile Reports
Awards // Records
Sales Statistics
Current Tour Info
MUSIC
Albums // Singles
Chart Log
Lyrics
Videography
Tours
Audio // Video
MOVIES
The Bodyguard
Waiting To Exhale
The Preacher's Wife
Cinderella
New Movie Projects
Movie Index
IMAGE GALLERY
Album Covers
Singles Covers
Magazines
Whitney Live
Videos
Listed Galleries
INTERVIEWS//REVIEWS
Interviews & Articles
Music Reviews
Movie Reviews
WHITNEY'S WEB
Links
Arista
W H Foundation
Fan Club
COMMUNICATE
Discussion Forum
Mailing List
ICQ
Chat Room
Webmaster
Email Manish

www.classicwhitney.com - Copyright Notice & Disclaimer