Charles Manson Final Photo: Viral Picture Shows Body Of Notorious Cult Leader In Open Casket Before Cremation

The final photo of Charles Manson has hit the internet, showing the ashen and slightly decomposed body of the notorious cult leader in an open casket before his body was cremated.

Manson died in November following a long bout with a series of ailments, but a battle then ensued over who would take custody of his body. Manson’s grandson, Jason Freeman, ultimately took Manson’s body and held a funeral service, and pictures of the service and of Manson’s dead body have now spread on sites like LAD Bible.

Manson was the mastermind behind a series of grisly murders in 1960, carried out by his followers at his direction. He spent more than five decades behind bars before dying of natural causes late last year.

As Rolling Stone reported, Manson’s funeral was held at the Church of the Nazarene in Porterville, California, before between 20 and 25 of Manson’s close friends and family members. Afton Burton, who made headlines in recent years as Manson’s fiance, was among those present, TMZ reported.

Leading up to Manson’s funeral, there were reports that some close to the notorious criminal and cult leader could be planning to take custody of his body to be put on display, but Freeman said he felt a duty to lay his grandfather to rest, even though he had never met him before.

“I am a grandson working to take the proper steps to show my respect to my grandfather and his true close friends. I’m not only doing this for me. It’s for everyone who stands firm in the truth of life,” he told Rolling Stone.

The picture of Charles Manson’s dead body has generated quite a bit of interest as well, with the picture making the rounds on the internet and across social media.

Charles Manson has open casket funeral before he is cremated.https://t.co/nx3ap0hWWm pic.twitter.com/EEO8oJpUDN

— LADbible (@ladbible) March 20, 2018

TMZ was the first to report on Charles Manson’s open-casket funeral, noting that this body had begun to show some signs of decomposition in the more than four months since his passing. Manson was seen in his casket with heavy makeup and gloves on his hands to cover up these signs of decay, reports noted.

Though the picture of Charles Manson’s dead body continues to generate interest, his grandson said he hopes that cremating the notorious criminal will help to lessen the attention he had received in the final years and decades of his life spent in prison.