Over Charles Manson's dead body: grandson to cremate cult leader's remains
I wouldn't feed Charles Manson's corpse to my dog, let alone fight over it. Not everyone's of the same mind: after a whole lotta legal jibba-jabba, the courts have finally decided on who gets possession of his remains. According to Jezebel, Manson's grandson, Jason Freeman, has won the dead cult-leader lottery, having been awarded the right to take possession of his murderous progenitor's remains:
Manson died on November 19th after more than 40 years behind bars, but in all that time it was never agreed upon who would win the rights to his corpse once he finally kicked the bucket. If you thought he'd be quietly cremated and deposited in a dumpster behind a seafood restaurant like he probably deserved, well, you were wrong. It turns out an entire gaggle of people were after the cult leader's ice-packed remains, including Freeman, longtime pen pal Michael Channels, a musician named Matt Lentz who claims to be his son, and another dude named Michael Brunner who also claims to be his son.
Freeman plans on cremating Manson's remains before holding a small ceremony with family. What a relief to have that sorted out. I was losing sleep over what would happen to the body of a man responsible for a whack of senseless murders. But then, I'm not a member of his family (not THAT Family, his biological one). I've learned over the years that blood and funerals bring folks together like nothing else. I hate a burning hate on for my father, but I still came home to deliver his eulogy. The end of a life that intersected yours can do weird shit to your head. But hey, who am I to say? Maybe Freeman and Manson had a history that spanned decades of visitation days. There could have been affection there.
As Jezebel points out, while the custody of Manson's body has been sorted out, the decision of who gets dibs on his drawings, writing and other personal possessions still needs to be determined.
Image: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation - [1], Public Domain, Link