Virtually no one mourned Charles Manson when he died late last year at age 83. The cult leader who was convicted of murder back in 1971 and spent the rest of life in prison.
Though he clearly earned very little in his life, Manson left behind a potentially lucrative estate. Because he did not have a will, several men have been vying to control the estate, including purported grandson Jason Freeman. The Florida man had Manson’s body cremated and then spread the remains after a private funeral two months ago.
One of the men Freeman was in competition with claimed to be the late Manson Family leader’s son. Matthew Lentz said Manson fathered him during a 1967 orgy.
However, he failed to show up in time for a hearing in the Mason probate case. Another man, who also purported to be a son, filed papers in court to withdraw his claim to the estate.
If those two possible sons are eliminated, that would leave Freeman and a man who says he was Manson’s pen pal as the two last potential heirs.
Manson died in a hospital last November while serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for his role in the 1969 murders of Sharon Tate and eight others.
The pen pal sold Manson’s songs and artwork for him. He filed a will that named him as executor of the estate.
While the macabre story of the reviled murderer still garners attention all these years later, the story of the fighting after his death makes clear once again the importance of leaving a will.