Owner of studio where Eminem recorded "Slim Shady LP" found dead
January 4, 2005, 7:59 PM
DETROIT (AP) -- The owner of the studio where hip-hop megastar Eminem recorded the multimillion-selling CD, "The Slim Shady LP," was found shot to death Tuesday inside the 700-square-foot facility, police said.
Investigators were compiling a list of suspects but had not determined a motive in the slaying of Amjed A. (A.J.) Abdallah, said Detective Lt. Norman Raymond of the Ferndale Police Department.
A business associate of Abdallah found the 36-year-old native of Jordan on the floor of Studio 8 about 11:30 a.m. EST, Raymond said. He said police recovered three bullet casings from a .357-caliber revolver and determined that Abdallah had been shot twice.
"He'd been dead a minimum of two days, likely, and the last time we have anyone talking to him verifying he was alive was Sunday night" during a telephone call, Raymond said.
"There's a possibility of robbery," Raymond said. "People who use the studio told us to look for some fairly pricey equipment and it was missing."
Abdallah lived in a two-bedroom apartment over the two-story building on Eight Mile Road, which divides Ferndale and Detroit and inspired the title of Eminem's semi-autobiographical 2002 movie, "8 Mile."
Abdallah had not reported any threats or problems at Studio 8, and interviews with several people did not indicate that Abdallah had enemies, Raymond said.
"Everybody says he was a prince of a guy," the detective said. "He did record for rappers, gangster rap and hip-hop, but we haven't found anyone who had any particular problem with him yet."
Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, recorded "The Slim Shady LP" at Studio 8 in 1997. The CD has sold nearly 5 million copies since it was released in 1999.
Grubb & Ellis, a Southfield-based real estate firm, listed the building Dec. 15 on the eBay online auction site, asking $215,000. David Giltner, senior vice president at Grubb & Ellis, told The Detroit News last month that Abdallah decided to sell the studio because he was spending more time in New York.
Abdallah's ex-wife and a teenage son live in northern Kentucky, Raymond said.
The homicide was the first in several years in Ferndale, a city of 22,000 in southeast Oakland County, Raymond said.
