Marvin Gaye heard the argument from his bedroom. He got up.
What happened next is documented through Alberta Gay’s testimony—she was the only witness to the full sequence of events—and through subsequent legal proceedings.
Gaye confronted his father. He shoved Gay Sr. out of whatever room he was in and pushed him into the hallway. The physical confrontation escalated. According to Alberta’s testimony, the two men fought—Gaye striking his father, Gay Sr. unable to defend himself against a son who was physically stronger and younger. Alberta intervened and separated them.
Gay Sr. retreated.
Approximately eight minutes passed.
At approximately 12:38 p.m., Gay Sr. returned to Marvin’s bedroom.
He was carrying the .38 Smith & Wesson.
He shot his son twice.
The first bullet struck Marvin Gaye in the chest—in or very near the heart. The second shot, fired at close range after the first, struck him in the shoulder.
Alberta, who had been present, witnessed this. Her reaction—what she said, what she did in those first moments—is not part of the public record in specific detail.
Frankie Gaye, who was elsewhere in the house, heard the shots. He found his brother in the bedroom.
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PART TWELVE: FRANKIE’S WITNESS
Of all the accounts that emerged in the days, months, and years following April 1, 1984, one of the most painful belongs to Frankie Gaye.
Frankie was Marvin’s younger brother. He had served in Vietnam—the brother whose service had partly inspired “What’s Going On.” He had watched Marvin become famous, had witnessed the arc of his brother’s extraordinary life. He had also watched the deterioration of the past year, the retreat into the house on Gramercy Place, the drugs and the paranoia and the conflict with their father.