Terri Schiavo Family Wants Info on Ashes

By Associated Press

10:48 AM EDT, May 9, 2005

MIAMI - The family of a severely brain-damaged woman who died after her feeding tube was removed in March said Friday they still have not been told where her remains will be laid to rest.

Terri Schiavo's parents and siblings, who waged a lengthy court battle over her end-of-life wishes, said on Fox's "Hannity & Colmes" show that her husband is keeping her remains from them.

"They were supposed to tell us, and we still have not heard from ... Michael Schiavo where Terri's been laid," said Terri Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler. "Our family expected this. Michael has disobeyed court orders throughout the ordeal and continues to do so today."

Michael Schiavo is under court order to notify the Schindlers of his plans for a memorial service. He has had his wife cremated and has said her ashes would be buried at a family plot in Pennsylvania.

George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, did not immediately return a call Friday night seeking comment.

Terri Schiavo, 41, died March 31 in a Pinellas Park hospice, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed by court order. She suffered brain damage in 1990 after a chemical imbalance caused her heart to stop.

She left no written instructions in the event she became disabled, and her husband said she never would have wanted to be kept alive in what court-appointed doctors called a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery.

The Schindlers, however, doubted she had any such end-of-life wishes. They maintained she would benefit from rehabilitation, despite most doctors saying her condition was irreversible.