Battle Over Charles Manson Remains Leads To Allegation Of Forgery

LOS ANGELES, CA — The grandson of Charles Manson has filed court papers seeking to obtain the remains of the late mass-murderer from the Kern County coroner.

Jason L. Freeman's Los Angeles Superior Court petition was filed Friday, four days after Judge David Cowan ruled that the appropriate court papers seeking release of the remains not yet been filed. A hearing on Freeman's petition is scheduled Jan. 26 before Judge Clifford Klein.

"As kin I am entitled to the remains of the decedent," Freeman states in his court papers.

Klein also will ultimately decide if the Manson probate proceedings should take place in Los Angeles County, where Manson once lived; in Kings County, where he was imprisoned before his death; or in Kern County, where he died.

Manson spent nearly 50 years at the Corcoran prison and died Nov. 19 at age 83 at Bakersfield Mercy Hospital of heart failure triggered by colon cancer that had spread to other areas of his body.

Former Manson pen pal Michael Channels also is seeking to obtain control of the killer's remains. Channels said he has a copy of Manson's will and that the cult leader left no property of any significant value.

Channels said he has no financial motives in getting involved in the probate case and that he is not looking for attention. He said he only wants to see Manson buried in a place where spectators won't vandalize the gravesite.

But in his court papers, Freeman says Manson died without a will and that any such document anyone claims to possess is a "forgery."

City News Service; Photo: In this 1969 file photo, Charles Manson is escorted to his arraignment on conspiracy-murder charges in connection with the Sharon Tate murder case. Authorities say Manson, cult leader and mastermind behind 1969 deaths of actress Sharon Tate and several others, died on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017. He was 83. (AP Photo, File)