Authorities in California are trying to figure out who has a rightful claim to the remains of Charles Manson, with at least five people vying for the murder mastermind's body.
Manson died in November at age 83, after spending decades in prison for his role in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles. The Kern County counsel's office is in possession of his remains, because their building has refrigeration and the Kern County coroner does not, but the office is now struggling to figure out what to do with the body. "When we received it, we thought no one would claim the body," deputy attorney Bryan Walters told the Los Angeles Times. "We assumed it would be an easy matter to take care of."
People from California, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Florida have come forward claiming rights to Manson's remains, including one man who says he's Manson's grandson and another who was a pen pal. The Kern County counsel does not want to release the remains to the wrong person and face a lawsuit, but to make matters even more confusing, it's unclear who should even have his body right now — Manson lived in Los Angeles County before going to prison, was arrested in Inyo County, was incarcerated in Kings County, and died in Kern County. "This is a really weird legal case," Walters said.
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