The man who claims to be the grandson of cult killer Charles Manson may be closer to winning his legal battle for his grandfather's estate after lawyers filed a birth certificate that established his ties to one of the most notorious criminals in the history of the U.S.
In an exclusive report, Daily Mail stated that the birth certificate filing prompted Nancy Claassen of Washington to withdraw her claim to Manson's fortune. Claassen has claimed she is the half-sister of the late killer because they have the same mother, which makes her his direct heir.
Claassen's withdrawal leaves just one other person with claims to the estate. Michael Channels, who was pen pals with Manson from prison, said that he was left all of his belongings and assets, as stated in one of his letters.
How is Jason Freeman related to Charles Manson?
Judge Ruben Garcia asked Freeman in June 2022 to show additional proof of his claim that he is Manson's grandson after evidence from an Ohio court showed that Charles Manson Jr., the killer's first-born child with Rosalie Jean Willis, was asked to pay child support to Freeman's mom. Garcia said that while he believes Freeman, the claimant still needs to establish that his father was, in fact, the child of Manson Sr.
According to All That's Interesting, not a lot is known about the life of Manson Jr., but he died by suicide in 1993 as he couldn't shake off his father's infamous identity. He even tried to change his name so he would not be linked to his famous namesake.
But a group of lawyers supporting Freeman's long-standing legal battle for his grandfather's estate produced Manson Jr.'s birth certificate. Atty. Alan Davis obtained his birth certificate in Los Angeles.
However, Atty. Timothy Lyons, who represents Channels, argued in May 2022 that the previous judge presiding over the case, who has since retired, gave no weight to the evidence from the Ohio court over the child support payments. There is also no proof that Manson Jr. paid Freeman's mother.
Channels also sought a DNA test from Freeman, who said he would only do the test if it was a court order. So far, the court has not yet asked for the DNA test.
Freeman vs. Channels still not over
Freeman and Channels are due for another hearing in late July, per KFI. Freeman's lawyers have already filed probate on Channels' claims that Manson wanted his pen pal to inherit his estate, arguing that these pronouncements were made in a letter and were not the actual will of the notorious cult killer.
Manson Sr. died in prison in 2017 at 83 years old with an estimated net worth of $400,000. He was sent to prison in the late 1960s for instigating a mass murder that took the life of Hollywood actress Sharon Tate and six other victims.
In 1972, Manson Sr.'s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Freeman said in interviews that he connected with his grandfather after his father died.
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