Charles Manson 'Son' Kicked Out Of Battle For Killer's Estate

Only two men — grandson, Jason Freeman, and pen pal Michael Channels — are still left in the fight for control over Charles Manson's estate after a judge dismissed the late killer's only son Matthew Robert Lentz's petition for his personal belongings, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Friday, July 13, dismissed the petition of two other men — Matthew Brunner and Lentz — who claimed they are Manson’s sons. Although the judge dismissed Lentz’s and Brunner’s petition, he did so without prejudice, meaning both men could still refile documents in court.

On Friday, Lentz asked the court for more time to present his argument and obtain an attorney, but the judge said the deadline to present pertinent documents already passed.

Lentz, of Van Nuys, filed an eight-page will allegedly signed by Manson on Jan. 11, 2017 at Concoran State Prison, where the killer had been serving a life sentence until his death on Nov. 19. In that will, Manson listed longtime friend Benjamin J. Gureki as the executor of the his estate, but also listed Lentz as his only child.

Lentz, who walked out of the courtroom after hearing his petition was dismissed, told RadarOnline.com he was done with trying to get any part of Manson’s estate.

“I actually feel relieved because I think this is it,” Lentz told RadarOnline.com after Friday’s hearing. “I can just go on with my life. I wanted some closure and I wanted to tie up lose ends because I feel like I’ve been misrepresented in a lot of ways."

Freeman, Manson’s grandson from Charles Manson, Jr., filed the initial petition in December seeking control over the estate through a special administrator, attorney Dale Kiken. In court documents, Freeman said his father, Charles Jr., had changed his name “to avoid the specter of being the son of Charles M. Manson.” Charles Jr. shot himself in the head on June 29, 1993, according to the affidavit.

Manson died at a Kern County Hospital on Nov. 19 at the age of 83. An informational copy obtained exclusively by RadarOnline.com revealed Manson died of acute cardiac arrest and other complications, including respiratory failure and metazoic colon cancer.

Attorney Alan Davis, who represents Kiken and Freeman’s interests, said it is still unknown what prison authorities have in storage as far as Manson’s belongings. Davis said it could include music or other personal writings Manson completed while in prison.

“Right now, I’d like to get a hold of whatever possessions he had in prison,” Davis told RadarOnline.com. “Those might have some value. I don’t think they have disposed of anything, but they could at any time. We believe those should go to the next of kin, which is Jason. We don’t know what could be there— maybe even the shirt off his (Manson’s) back. We don’t know at this point what they have or what it’s worth.”