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CNN Live At Daybreak

Williams' Will Calls for Cremation

Aired July 17, 2002 - 05:57   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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: And the controversy over what to do with the remains of baseball great Ted Williams is heating up.

CNN's John Zarrella brings us up to date now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ted Williams, baseball immortal, the last man to hit .400, spelled it out clearly in this last will and testament.

It reads: "I direct that my remains be cremated and my ashes sprinkled at sea off the coast of Florida, where the water is very deep."

But Albert Cassidy, Ted's long time friend and executor of the will, says Williams changed his mind.

ALBERT CASSIDY, EXECUTOR: As stated in my petition to the court, based on what I know and believe, after the time of his will, Ted chose to have his body cryonically preserved. While many may not make the same choice for themselves, I hope people will respect this as a private family matter.

ZARRELLA: That supposed new desire was carried out by two of Ted's children, John Henry and Claudia. After his death on July 5, Williams' body was flown to an Arizona facility and frozen. Since then, his oldest child, Bobby-Jo Ferrell, has been demanding her father's body be returned and his wish in the will carried out.

Ferrell says her half brother is motivated by greed.

BARBARA JOYCE FERRELL, WILLIAMS' DAUGHTER: He said that it would be really interesting to sell dad's DNA. There's a lot of people out there, he said, that would buy dad's DNA and there could be lots of little Ted Williamses running around. And that's the truth.

ZARRELLA: To this point, John Henry and Claudia Williams have not provided any documents proving their father wanted his body frozen. If those documents exist, Bobby-Jo's attorneys want to see them.

RICHARD FITZPATRICK, FERRELL'S ATTORNEY: It would take something, I think, signed by Ted Williams or some other clear indication that he had modified his intention after December of 1996, when he signed that last will and testament.

ZARRELLA: With the two sides unable to resolve their differences, a legal battle is now shaping up. Cassidy, the will's executor, has petitioned the court here in Citrus County to make the decision. So it appears increasingly likely a Florida judge will ultimately decide whether Ted Williams remains frozen or his body returned to be cremated.

John Zarrella, CNN, Inverness, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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