
California demands the signatures of two witnesses. In addition, it is signed by only one witness. CNN unsuccessfully tried to contact Roberts for this story.Īlthough the coroner received the Gurecki will, it has not yet been formally filed in court. However, when CNN ran a DNA test on both Roberts and Freeman, there was no match. Roberts says he reached out to Manson, who confirmed many details. Roberts says she told him Manson was one of four men she'd met at an orgy in San Francisco in 1967. She had some startling news: His father was Charles Manson. Roberts told CNN in a 2012 interview that he'd been adopted as an infant, but tracked down his birth mother. Lentz, also known as Matthew Roberts, had long wondered if he was Charles Manson's son. He told CNN he was frustrated by the delay in sorting out the claims to Manson's estate, and by the ensuing media coverage.

Gurecki runs a website that has offered Manson memorabilia for sale. It lists a Los Angeles man, Matthew Robert Lentz, as Manson's son and only heir. The will is dated Janu- nine months before Manson's death. Gurecki lives in Illinois and says he'd been a friend of Manson's for at least 20 years. The first one appoints Benjamin Gurecki as executor. Soon after Manson's death, the Kern County Coroner received two conflicting Manson wills. The memorabilia collector and unproven son His mother, who would be 77 years old, has also remained out of the public eye since her release. may seek profit from, exploit or sensationalize decedent's remains."īrunner declined CNN's request for an interview. That baptismal ceremony took place in October 1969, just two months after Manson was arrested.īrunner wants "to cremate the remains and scatter the ashes in a dignified and private manner." According to the court filing, Brunner is concerned that others who are "unrelated memorabilia collectors. She was later found guilty in connection with another murder, served time in prison and was paroled in 1977.Ī baptismal certificate from a church in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where Brunner's maternal grandparents were raising him, lists Michael Sunstone Manson as the child of Manson and Mary Brunner. Mary Brunner was arrested for credit card fraud before the murders, and was in jail during the Manson family killing spree. Brunner's attorney filed a petition that includes a birth certificate for Michael Manson, born to Mary Brunner and Charles Manson, on Ap- just over a year before the murder spree. He might have the best claim to Manson and his estate. Less than 12 hours before a Los Angeles probate judge was expected to rule on whether his court was even the one to decide the fate of Manson's body, a new twist emerged: Michael Brunner, whose mother, Mary Brunner was one of the first Manson followers, filed a claim.īrunner maintains he is Manson's only surviving son.

I'm not making a judgment, I don't want anyone to judge me." The son

I'm not talking about the mistakes he's made. "If a grandson can't say he loves his grandfather, the world's pretty messed up," Freeman, fighting back tears, told reporters after one hearing.

But, unlike others who knew Manson, he released no photographs or recordings. He was accompanied by a man he called his "spiritual adviser," and Freeman says if there is any money, he would donate it.įreeman says in Manson's final years the two had a relationship. If he's the one who gets Manson's body, Freeman says he would have his grandfather cremated and spread the ashes in a small family ceremony.įreeman lives in Florida, but traveled to California for several court dates.
