March 13 (UPI) — Charles Manson‘s grandson won the right to his grandfather’s remains after a legal dispute against two others who claimed to be the rightful heirs to the infamous cult leader’s corpse.
“I can finally say this part is over,” Jason Freeman told CNN Monday. “I never looked at it as being a battle between anybody…This is unreal — this is something I actually played out in my mind ever since I was a kid.”
Kern County Superior Court Commissioner Alisa R. Knight ruled that Manson’s remains must be released to Freeman, who will be responsible for the costs of funeral and burial expenses.
Freeman had to take his case to court after Manson died in November because Michael Brunner, who claims to be Manson’s last surviving son, and Michael Channels, Manson’s longtime pen pal, each argued they should be given the corpse.
Brunner, who lives in Wisconsin, is the son of former Manson cult member Mary Brunner, and has questioned whether Freeman is actually a blood relative of Manson. Brunner said Freeman has been unwilling to take a DNA test to prove his relation.
Channels met Manson in prison in 2002 and remained a pen pal after his release. He claimed to have a will from Manson that gives him authority over his estate, but a judge previously ruled the supposed will to be invalid.
Freeman, who is the son of Charles Manson, Jr., who committed suicide in 1993, said he plans to scatter his grandfather’s ashes out to sea.
“I loved my grandfather, everybody makes mistakes,” Freeman said in January. “He did his time. If a grandson can’t say he loves his grandfather, the world’s pretty messed up.”
