EXCLUSIVE: Gary Coleman's Body -- No Second Autopsy
Jun. 15 2010, Published 10:00 a.m. ET
Gary Coleman's body could be cremated as soon as Wednesday, June 16 in a move that will prevent a second autopsy, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.
In a major blow to skeptics who disbelieve ex-wife Shannon Price's version of events about what happened leading up to the TV star's sudden death, Coleman's body is set to be cremated at the Utah mortuary where his body has laid for two weeks.
“Shannon is relieved that the cremation can go forward and is happy for Gary that he will get his wishes, the one he made clear in all of his wills,” her attorney, Todd Bradford, told RadarOnline.com.
The Salt Lake City medical examiner's office has examined Coleman's body and determined the former Diff’rent Strokes star died from a "fall" that happened by "accident."
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However skeptics, including Coleman's former managers Victor Perillo and Dion Mial, have questioned whether foul play could have been involved.
Mial told RadarOnline.com, "I wholeheartedly believe there was foul play here."
Coleman's friend indicated he was considering an independent investigation, before he was ousted as executor of the estate.
When contacted about their claims, Price’s representative, Sheila Erickson, said the ex-wife would not be opposed to more tests, but said they were unnecessary.
“There’s already been an autopsy and there was no foul play,” Erickson told RadarOnline.com.
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“If there was foul play why would Gary send his wife the most beautiful text messages after he fell, why would he call her and tell her how much he loved her, why would he tell the doctors if there were any problems, to contact, ‘My wife Shannon.’
“It kind of contradicts itself.”
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Any decision to order a second autopsy rests with an independent attorney appointed to inventory Coleman's estate and oversee the cremation of his remains.
A judge Monday put the independent referee in place until a legal dispute between Coleman's ex-wife and his ex-girlfriend and manger is settled.
Price and Coleman's former girlfriend and manager, Anna Gray, both believe they are entitled to be Coleman's estate administrators.
The judge delayed Coleman's cremation so Gray could fly to Utah from Portland, Oregon, and view the former child actor's body before cremation.