Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Cult leader’s grandson seeks ‘another way’ to bury Manson

- NANCY DILLON

Charles Manson’s grandson isn’t giving up his plan to claim and bury the mass murderer, even after GoFundMe pulled the plug on his fundraisin­g website Thursday.

“If we can’t raise money with GoFundMe, we’ll find another way. It will definitely be a group effort. It’s not just one person; it’s a lot of people holding hands,” Jason Freeman told the New York Daily News.

Freeman, 41, said he was on a Thanksgivi­ng walk in some Ohio woods when he learned the crowd-sourcing page set up by his friend John Jones had been deactivate­d.

The fundraiser reached $979 before GoFundMe shut it down and was meant to cover the legal, travel and burial fees associated with claiming Manson’s remains in California.

“I have no clue,” Freeman said when asked if GoFundMe gave a reason for the blackout. “This is a circus. I’m letting a couple of my friends assist and help out. I’m trying to stay out of it.”

The married father of three confirmed he discussed with Jones the high costs associated with flying to California to assert his next-of-kin status and claim Manson’s remains from the Kern County coroner.

“It’s going to be a lot. There’s a lot of people who want to contribute, and then there’s a lot of people who want to protest,” Freeman said.

Jones said on the GoFundMe page that Freeman lost his job this month and needs help because he also has a family to support.

Freeman said he still hopes to make it to California before the 10-day window for claiming Manson’s remains closes.

Freeman first stepped forward in a 2012 CNN interview, saying he barely knew his own father, who was the only son of Manson and first wife Rosalie.

Born Charles Manson Jr., Freeman’s estranged dad changed his name to Jay White after Rosalie divorced the future cult leader.

White eventually killed himself in June 1993 while in his late 30s.

Freeman said he blamed his grandfathe­r for White’s death until he started speaking with Manson by phone eight years ago and reached a place of “forgivenes­s.”

Freeman started lobbying for the right to visit Manson at Corcoran State Prison but never succeeded. Asked why a meeting never took place, he declined to get specific but suggested Manson himself never gave the green light.

The clock is ticking for Freeman to make his claim on Manson’s remains.

Manson’s body was in the possession of the Kern County coroner on Monday because he died of natural causes in a hospital in Bakersfiel­d, Calif., not Corcoran State Prison, a prison spokeswoma­n confirmed to the Daily News.

According to state regulation­s, Manson’s remains will be released to a licensed funeral director unless the coroner makes special arrangemen­ts.

Manson might even get a ceremony, if he asked for one.

“A chaplain of the decedent’s professed faith may perform a ceremony in accordance with that faith,” the California Code of Regulation­s governing inmate death states.

If Manson legally designated someone for death notificati­on, prison staff will attempt to reach that person with a visit, telephone call or telegram, in accordance with state regulation­s.

If after 10 days the legally approved person fails to contact the designated funeral director, Manson will be considered unclaimed, the regulation­s state.

In that case, the funeral home would make arrangemen­ts to inter Manson using state resources.

If not already there, Manson would likely be sent to Union Cemetery in Bakersfiel­d for cremation. His ashes would then fit into a container about half the size of a shoebox.

According to the Kern County coroner’s website, unclaimed remains are interred at Union Cemetery.

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