Cryogenics case ends in settlement; details not released
A dispute over the frozen remains of a 71-year-old Colorado Springs woman has ended in a settlement.
The family of the late Mary D. Robbins, a retired nurse, agreed Wednesday to end a legal battle aimed at preventing her from being cryo-preserved by an Arizona nonprofit.
In return, Alcor Life Extension Foundation, of Scottsdale, Ariz., has agreed to pay a mortuary to cremate any part of her remains that Alcor deems not suitable for preservation and return those ashes to her family. Alcor also agreed not to pursue a $50,000 annuity that Robbins had set aside in 2006 to pay for her preservation.
More about Alcor and cryopreservation
Both sides agreed not to publicly discuss what parts will be frozen or cremated. But in her contract with Alcor, Robbins specified that her head was to be frozen.
She died on Feb. 9. On Monday, an El Paso County Probate Court magistrate upheld the will and awarded Alcor custody of Robbins’ remains.
Her body has been kept packed in dry ice at the Shrine of Remembrance mortuary in Colorado Springs pending the outcome of the legal dispute.
Robert Scranton, a lawyer for the Robbins family, said they will hold a press conference Thursday at 9 a.m. in front of El Paso County Probate Court to discuss the settlement.
Eric Bentley, a lawyer for Alcor, said the foundation hopes the settlement “will help the Robbins family find peace and closure.”
“Alcor is pleased that the matter could be resolved in a way that’s consistent with Mary’s wishes and in a way that’s acceptable to Mary’s family,” he said.
Bentley added that the case was never about the $50,000 annuity but rather upholding Robbins’ wishes.
During a daylong hearing on Friday, Robbins’ daughter Darlene testified that her mother gave up her wish to be cryogenically preserved when it became an impediment to her admission into a hospice.
At the time, Mary Robbins was in terrible pain, the daughter said. Hospice officials had balked at carrying out protocols that Alcor required to enhance preservation.
Alcor officials, however, said that was a “tragic mistake” and said they would have waived those protocols if the family had called to tell them about the problem.
Darlene Robbins claimed that her mother sought to cancel the contract by changing the beneficiary on the annuity from Alcor to her estate.
But Magistrate Barbara L. Hughes ruled that changing the annuity did not revoke the will. She ordered that Alcor be given custody of the body but delayed her ruling for 72 hours to give the family a chance to file an appeal. The deadline would have expired Thursday.
Alcor preserves human remains of its members at extremely low temperatures in hopes that someday they might be brought back to life through advances in medical science.
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