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CNN Live Today
Dispute Over What to Do With Ted Williams' Body Continues
Aired July 16, 2002 - 11:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We have yet another surprise for you this morning. Word that we are getting, there is an update in a story that was a rather bizarre one we were reporting about a couple of weeks ago about Ted Williams. You know, he is dead now. However, there has been a dispute over what to do with his body. His daughter wants to have it buried. His son has got it frozen, we believe, somewhere in a cryonics lab in Arizona.
Let's go now to Florida, where our John Zarrella has been standing by. He's got a new update for us -- John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, the problem is there were no King Solomon-like decisions that could be had in this case. And here in central Florida, Inverness, Florida, this quiet little town, has never seen quite this bizarre a scenario unfolding. What we had yesterday was about 11 hours of negotiations.
John Henry Williams, Ted Williams' son, Claudia Williams, one of his daughters, on one side, and Bobby Joe Williams on the other side. She wants her father's ashes -- father to be cremated, his ashes dumped over the Florida Keys, because that's what she said her father Ted Williams wanted. He loved to fish down in the Florida Keys, spent many years doing that.
On the other hand, John Henry Williams, right after his father's death on the 5th of July, apparently took his father's body to a cryonics lab, laboratory, out in Arizona, where Ted Williams is apparently frozen on ice as we speak.
Well, they negotiated for 11 hours yesterday, the two sides, at a lawyer's office not far from here. After 11 hours, neither side could come to a decision. There is no black and white; it is all gray area here. And attorney representing Bobby Jo Williams Ferrell came out and said, look, we are demanding now that a will be filed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD FITZPATRICK, FERRELL'S ATTORNEY: We expect and demand Mr. Cassidy is to pass (ph) he is the personal representative of the estate of Ted Williams, to carry out the wishes of Ted Williams, as clearly stated in his last will and testament.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ZARRELLA: Now, the attorneys refused to say exactly what is in the will. They say by negotiations last night, they cannot comment on what happened in those negotiations, why they fell apart, but clearly, there is only one way or the other. Either the body remains frozen in Arizona, or it's cremated. And neither side apparently wants to give in.
This all could end up in the hands of a Florida judge now. And we should know later this afternoon. By 2:00, we expect the executor, Al Cassidy, to come out and talk with us. That should be briefly after the will is filed here in the Citrus County courthouse. At that time, we should have a much better understanding, we think, we hope, of what the great slugger, the "Splendid Splinter" was, he was called, last man to bat .400 in the Major Leagues, what his wishes were, which obviously is preeminent to all this.
But right now, again, still don't know what Ted Williams wanted or what will ultimately lap to the great slugger's remains -- Leon.
HARRIS: Hey, John, how about what will happen to -- one of his son's plans may have been for putting him in the cryonics lab in the first place. We were just showing pictures moments of the cryonics laboratory. I'm not sure if that is actually the one where Ted's body may be at. But speculation is, he was preserving the body to try and sell the DNA.
ZARRELLA: That's exactly right. A couple of things that came up. And that we believe is the cryonics lab, where his body is on ice. The couple of things came up, according to Bobby Jo Ferrell. She had said that he wanted to sell the DNA, and she also said that John Henry Williams had on occasions came out and said, well, maybe they could unfreeze her father in a hundred years and perhaps he could again become rejuvenated and be a great baseball player once again when science was at the level where they might be able to do those things.
So exactly what is going on in the mind of John Henry Williams, and why he wanted to do this. If his father told him, go ahead and do this, we just do not know right now. So this quite bizarre, and a lot of people say unfortunate saga which has really somewhat tarnished the whole name of the Williams family here continues to unfold. Of course, it will not tarnish the greatness of Ted Williams. Again, the last man, Leon, to bat .400 in baseball, and of course an American war hero, too, as well during World War II and Korea.
HARRIS: You got that right. He will never be forgotten either. John Zarrella is reporting for us live from Inverness, Florida, as this bizarre story continues to unfold down there.
Thanks, John.
Get back to us when you hear something new down there.
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