Blake Rhea, Memphis, Tennessee musician shot dead by Edwurl Wurl following argument over a woman that both the victim and suspect had previously been involved with.
A Memphis, Tennessee musician was shot dead outside a Midtown bar moments after an argument with a man who had previously dated a woman he had also being involved with.
Blake Rhea, a much adored veteran bass player was shot dead during the early morning hours of Wednesday morning after arguing with the suspect, 51-year-old-man, Edward Wurl inside Louis Connelly’s Bar for Fun Times & Friendship on South Cleveland.
The argument according to an arrest affidavit states that the ‘argument’ continued outside the bar, as Rhea tried to walk to his car. The affidavit stated the suspect following Rhea to his car, where security footage shows him holding what appears to be a knife.
The argument continued, the affidavit says, with Rhea in the driver’s seat of his car and the other man standing between the car and the open door. The man then leans into the open driver’s side and appears to struggle with Rhea. When the man backs away, security footage shows Rhea slumped over.
The affidavit then says the man waited for several seconds, looking at Rhea, before raising his right hand. Several flashes can be seen, the document says, before the man later identified in a line up as Wurl, walks away, FOX13 reported.
Witnesses who had seen the two men inside the bar told police they knew Wurl and Rhea had both been recently involved in a romantic relationship with the same woman.
Edward Wurl was booked into the Shelby County jail for first-degree murder and being a convicted felon possessing a handgun, records show.
A background check showed a felony conviction for burglary and unlawful wounding in Virginia from 1994 for Wurl.
Wurl is set to appear in court Friday. No bond has been set.
Rhea had been a stalwart of the Memphis music scene for decades, playing with Southern Avenue, John Németh, Marcella Simien and many others. Along with coming off a recent music tour just two months ago, Rhea was a beloved music teacher, as fans, students continued to pay their respects to what one former pupil recalled, ‘One guy has changed the lives of hundreds and hundreds of people.’
