The remains of the "Godfather of Soul," James Brown, were moved to a crypt last week until his final resting place is determined, amid a dispute between relatives for his estate, a funeral home owner said. After his demise on Christmas, December 25, Brown’s body was kept for 20 days in his Beech Island, South Carolina home in a temperature-controlled room in the gold-and-bronze casket used during his funeral services. The remains "were moved on last Thursday" to a temporary crypt in an undisclosed location, until Brown’s relatives decide on a final resting place, said Charlie Reid, owner of CA Reid funeral home in Augusta, Georgia, which has been in charge of the remains since late December. Reid said he did not know how long it would take for the family to reach an agreement on Brown’s final destination, but explained "they’re trying to finish this other stuff left … so it shouldn’t be that long." He said the above-ground crypt was a much more appropriate place to keep the remains until the dispute is settled down. "Oh yes, I would say so," said Reid. Asked where the remains were taken, Reid refused to comment. "That’s private information," he said. Relatives of Brown had been entangled in a legal dispute, as his former partner Tomi Rae Hynie and their five-year-old son were excluded from his will, signed more than a year before he married Hynie and 10 months before James Brown Jr. was born. His other six children are to divide up his personal possessions, clothing, jewelry and cars as expressed in the will, which was registered in court the same day Brown’s remains where moved to the new location.
AFP
His family should be ashamed. How can they put their needs and greed ahead of burying him? That is just so sad of them.
