Court battle over woman's head

A Colorado family and an Arizona non-profit group are fighting in court over who gets the head of a woman who died this month, along with a £32,000 annuity she left behind.

At issue is whether 71-year-old Mary Robbins' head and brain will be preserved by cryonics - extremely cold temperatures - in the expectation that future technology may be able to bring her back to life and restore her health.

Lawyers for both sides appeared in probate court on Friday but the case has not been resolved.

Ms Robbins, of Colorado Springs, died on February 9. Her family said she was suffering from cancer.

In 2006 she signed documents giving the Alcor Life Extension Foundation of Scottsdale, Arizona, the right to cryogenically preserve her head and brain. She also agreed to give the foundation a £32,000 annuity to cover preservation costs.

But daughter Darlene Robbins said her mother changed her mind in her last days because of the procedures that preservation would have required before she died, including tubes in her throat and nose, intravenous lines and medication.

Ms Robbins signed new paperwork that would give her family the annuity, her daughter said.

Darlene Robbins said she opposed a suggestion by Alcor to take her mother's head and that the family get custody of the body.

"I want to have closure. I want to be able to grieve for my mom in a normal way without fighting a legal battle to give me back my mother," she said.

Eric Bentley, a lawyer for Alcor, said Ms Robbins did not sign a written notice rescinding the 2006 agreement and Alcor wanted to honour the wishes she expressed in that document.

"Alcor is not a cult and it's not a fly-by-night operation. It's a science-based medical organisation," Mr Bentley said.

Alcor's website said the foundation was formed in 1972.

Ms Robbins' body is stored on dry ice at a Colorado Springs mortuary until custody is settled.

"I've never tried a case where we're talking about the dismemberment of a body and fighting over pieces of a body," said Robert Scranton, a lawyer for the family.