Williams#039; estate withdraws request
Published 12:00 am Friday, August 9, 2002
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Ted Williams' estate withdrew its request for a court to help resolve the dispute over his body, a victory for two children of the baseball great who want to keep it frozen.
The estate's executor, Al Cassidy, said in court papers Thursday he's convinced the Hall of Famer wanted to be cryonically frozen and that a judge's guidance was no longer necessary.
Williams' youngest children, John Henry and Claudia Williams, say they and their father signed a handwritten pact in November 2000 agreeing their bodies would be frozen.
Williams' eldest daughter, Bobby-Jo Williams Ferrell, believes her father wanted to be cremated and have his ashes scattered off the Florida coast, as he requested in his will.
''This puts an end to the proceeding that was pending,'' said Robert Goldman, the attorney for John Henry and Claudia Williams.
Cassidy said he withdrew his petition because of the handwritten pact, a report by a handwriting expert attesting to the authenticity of the pact and an affidavit from Claudia Williams saying her father knew what he was doing when he signed the pact.
Ferrell's lawyers were not immediately reached for comment. Ferrell could continue the court fight if she takes a separate legal action.
Williams' body was moved to a Scottsdale, Ariz., cryogenics lab shortly after his death on July 5. The Associated Press