THE WAR FOR CHARLES MANSON

The notorious cult leader’s body remains on ice as three people wrestle for the rights to his estate

Charles Manson on his way to his sentencing hearing in 1971. FAR RIGHT: One of his victims, actress Sharon Tate, with her husband, Polish director Roman Polanski. BELOW RIGHT: Manson pictured in August last year, shortly before his death in November, aged 83.

HE WAS one of the world’s most reviled men, a cult leader who orchestrated the death of nine people. This was a man so despised that several cemeteries reportedly don’t want to allow him to be buried on their land for fear he’ll pollute the ground. And yet somehow Charles Manson has three people fighting over his corpse.

The body of the notorious criminal, who died aged 83 of heart failure triggered by colon cancer, has been on ice in a mortuary since his death in November, as war is waged over the rights to his body – and estate.

The first contender is Manson’s pen pal of 30 years, Michael Channels (52), who claims to have a will signed by Manson in 2002.

The document purportedly states that upon Manson’s death, his entire estate – including the rights to his prison and police records and his image, music, printing, movie and publishing rights – would become the property of Channels, a memorabilia collector.

Unfortunately for Channels, the “crudely written will”, as TMZ describes it, is only partially legible and lists him as a witness so it may not be accepted as valid.

Next up is Jason L Freeman (41), a mixed martial arts fighter and oil rig worker who’s filed documents to try to prove he’s Manson’s grandson. He claims Manson died without a will, making him the rightful heir.

Freeman’s lawyer said the will Channels claims to have, in which Manson cuts both his known sons from his estate, was “very suspicious”.

“Manson was incarcerated and we’re suspicious that someone could get to him and get it signed.”

Despite Freeman’s claims, Manson told prison officials from his deathbed that he had no family.

Interesting then that another supposed son has crawled out of the woodwork: Matthew Robert Lentz, a 49-yearold musician who lives in Los Angeles, claims to be Manson’s long-lost son and has filed a will of his own.

The eight-page document was supposedly signed by Manson in January 2017 and entrusted to his long-time confidant, Ben Gurecki, to give to his son, Lentz.

Lentz claims he discovered Manson was his father after finding his biological mother in 2001. She told Lentz that Manson had raped her during a drug-fuelled orgy but she later backtracked, saying it wasn’t rape but “vigorous sex”.

DNA tests proved inconclusive, but Gurecki, the would-be executor of this particular will, claims Manson knew