The remains of atheist activist Madalyn Murray O’Hair and two relatives were buried March 23 during a private ceremony held at a secret site in central Texas.
O’Hair’s estranged son — a fundamentalist minister — said he organized the ceremony in accord with his mother’s wishes, according to the San Antonio Express News, the Associated Press reported.
“She was cremated,” said William Murray. “No one prayed over her.”
Murray’s participation in the burial was denounced by American Atheists, founded by O’Hair, as inappropriate.
The burial ceremony came about a week after human remains discovered in a shallow grave on a Texas ranch were identified as those of O’Hair, her son Jon Garth Murray and her granddaughter Robin Murray O’Hair.
The three had been missing since September 1995.
Their remains were found after David Roland Waters- Madalyn O’Hair’s office manager- struck an agreement with prosecutors in which he had pleaded guilty to extortion rather than murder and promised to reveal the location of the victims’ bodies, Reuters reported.
Prosecutors believe Waters and at least two accomplices killed and dismembered the trio after forcing them to relinquish items such as cars and coins worth about $500,000.
Last August a Texas district court sentenced one of the alleged accomplices-Gary Karr- to life in prison for his involvement in the crime.
Prosecutors believe Waters and Karr killed a third accomplice because they were afraid they could no longer trust him. (RNS)
Share with others: