3 Men Competing For Charles Manson's Body, Funeral And Cremation Rights

There are three candidates currently involved in the chaotic legal battle over the body of notorious murder mastermind and pop culture fixture, Charles Manson.

According to documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the Kern County, California coroner lists three men as potential recipients of Manson’s corpse. In addition to making decisions on when Manson’s probate hearings should take place and what assets are dispersed, a Kern County judge is set to decide the final fate of Manson’s remains.

The first of three potential recipients of Manson’s body includes former pen pal Michael Channels, who says he filed Manson’s last will and testament in 2002, despite the deadline not having been until 30 days after Mansons’ November 2017 death. Although still not ruled the executor of Manson’s will, Channels told TMZ that his priority is to get Manson’s body to a funeral home as soon as possible for cremation and service plans.

The second candidate for Manson’s body is Matthew Robert Lentz, who claims to be Manson’s son but has only one of the 2 required legal witnesses needed to prove that in the State of California. Lentz has detailed cremation plans for Manson's body as well.

Finally, there is Jason Freeman, who claims to be Manson’s grandson in legal papers filed in California to lay claim as the executor of Manson’s will. However, Manson told prison officials on the record last year that he had no blood relatives or family whatsoever.

The Kern County judge is expected to rule on Charles Manson’s will executor by the end of the month.

Charles Manson, the convicted mastermind behind several 1969 murders, had been imprisoned for more than 45 years at California State Prison in Kings County, California. He was moved to a hospital in Kern County days before his Nov. 19, 2017, death as a result of cardiac arrest caused by colon cancer. He was 83 years old at the time of his death.

Last month, a Kern County attorney overseeing the case of Manson’s body referred to the legal battle over his body as a “circus.”

Bryan Walters, a deputy attorney in the Kern County counsel’s office, said last month it’s a “really weird legal case” and added that some of Manson’s pen pals claim to have written wills from the murder mastermind, the LA Times reported. Walters compared the situation, saying it is “like a circus,” and adding that “nothing is clear where we should hang our hat on.”