Man sues cryogenics firm for $1million and the return of his dead father's HEAD after he claims they chopped it off and cremated the rest of his body despite 'agreement to freeze all of his remains'
- Laurence Pilgeram agreed to pay Alcor Life Extension Foundation $120,000 to cryogenically preserve his body at a temperature of -196 degrees in 1990
- But his son, Kurt Pilgeram, said he was stunned in April 2015, a month after his father’s death, when a package arrived at his home containing his ashes
- In among the remnants was everything of Laurence’s body from the shoulders down, but his head was not listed as part of the package
- Instead, it was actually removed from his body and placed in a vat of liquid nitrogen in Arizona – where Kurt says the rest of his father’s body should be
- Kurt is seeking in excess of $1 million in damages from Alcor, and its British-born founder Dr. Max More, claiming extreme emotional distress
- Alcor have since spoken out against Kurt’s filing, claiming to have met the agreement they made with Laurence - insisting Kurt has nothing to do with it
The distraught son of a deceased California scientist has spoken out for the first time since he decided to sue a cryogenics firm, claiming the lab wrongly cremated his father’s body and only preserved his head.
As part of his death wish, scientist and cryonics enthusiast Laurence Pilgeram agreed to pay Alcor Life Extension Foundation $120,000 to cryogenically preserve his body at a temperature of -196 degrees, until a time when technology would be able to bring him back to life.
But his son, Kurt Pilgeram, said he was stunned in April 2015, a month after his father’s death, when a package arrived at his Dutton Montana home said to be containing his father’s ashes.
In among the remnants was everything of Laurence’s body from the shoulders down, but his head was not listed as part of the package.
As part of his death wish, scientist and cryonics enthusiast Laurence Pilgeram (left) agreed to pay Alcor Life Extension Foundation $120,000 to cryogenically preserve his body at a temperature of 196 degrees. But his son, Kurt Pilgeram (right), said he was stunned in April 2015, a month after his father’s death, when a package arrived at his Dutton Montana home
In among the remnants was everything of Laurence’s body from the shoulders down, but his head was not listed as part of the package. Kurt is seeking in excess of $1 million in damages from Alcor, and its British-born founder Dr. Max More, claiming extreme emotional distress.
Instead, it was actually removed from his body and placed in a vat of liquid nitrogen in Arizona – where Kurt says the rest of his father’s body should be, still intact.
‘They chopped his head off, burned his body, put it in a box and sent it to my house, Kurt told AZ Central. ‘I want people to know what’s going on.’
He went on to say that he was both stunned and angry at the way his father’s remains were carelessly handled.
And now, Kurt is seeking in excess of $1 million in damages from Alcor, and its British-born founder Dr. Max More, claiming extreme emotional distress.
The filing states that British-born Dr. Max More was required to preserve all of his remains, 'no matter how damaged.
Kurt was reportedly left 'shocked, horrified and extremely distressed' over the lab's alleged wrongdoing.
'Kurt has suffered extreme emotional distress as a result of Alcor's accusations and has been injured as alleged in an amount in excess of $1million,’ the complaint states.
'Alcor undertook such actions maliciously and oppressively, and with intent to cause injury.
'There is little, if any, hope of bringing his head "back to life" under the circumstances here.’
Laurence Pilgeram was one of the early backers of the concept, entering an agreement with Alcor to venture into cryonic suspension after his death back in October 1990, when he was 67
The filings states that British-born Dr. Max More was required to preserve all of Laurence's remains, 'no matter how damaged'
The suit was filed in September last year, but Alcor have since spoken out against Kurt’s filing, claiming to have met the agreement they made with Laurence, adding that Kurt was never privy to any discussions.
They’ve accused Kurt of trying to re-claim life insurance funds designated to Alcor for the cryonic preservation of Laurence’s remains, believing him to be feigning concern ‘about specific issues with the cryonic preservation of Mr. Pilgream’s’ head.
‘Imagine if you made a contract as an adult, and you are of sound mind, and then one of your kids pops up and said, “I don’t like that agreement you made?”’ said Alcor attorney James Arrowood, believing Kurt’s objections to be irrelevant.
Both of the parties are claiming a breach of contract, among a number of other discrepancies in the Santa Barbara Superior Court Case.
Laurence was 90 when he died from an apparent cardiac arrest outside his Goleta home on April 10, 2015.
The scientist, who also worked in cryogenics for several decades, became the Alcor’s 135th patient after his death, according to their website.
‘My Dad just didn’t fit in,’ Kurt said, speaking of his father’s obsession with preservation and mummification. ‘He was always a little different, thinking about other things that were more lofty you might say.’
Cryonics – Greek for icy cold – is an experimental procedure in which extreme sub-zero temperatures are used to perfectly preserve a recently deceased body.
Laurence, who also worked in cryogenics for several decades, became the Alcor’s 135th patient after his death, according to their website
Kurt is seeking in excess of $1 million in damages from Alcor, and its British-born founder Dr. Max More, claiming extreme emotional distress
So far, as many as 170 people – 122 me and 42 women – have been cryogenically preserved at Alcor, according to their website, where the company claims to be the largest organisation of its kind.
Laurence Pilgeram was one of the early backers of the concept, entering an agreement with Alcor to venture into cryonic suspension after his death back in October 1990, when he was 67.
Twenty-five years later, Laurence died from a heart-attack walking home from a restaurant. He became Alcor member A-125.
As required in the program, any member’s body must be placed on ice as soon as possible to prevent damage and prepare the cadaver for cryopreservation.
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In Laurence’s instance, he died on a Friday night but wasn’t released from a county morgue for another three days, where he had been kept at a temperature of 30 degrees.
Alcor’s attorney says the firm relies on relatives to inform them of any member’s death, to ensure to process is enacted as soon as possible.
‘timeliness is entirely dependent upon relatives timely and promptly notifying Alcor of a death,’ Arrowood said. ‘If that is not done properly, there is a big problem.’
As a result of the delay, Alcor conducted a ‘straight freeze’, where Laurence was taken to a mortuary and covered with dry ice.
They then conducted a ‘neuro-separation’ on Laurence, transporting his head to Arizona for continued cool-down, while cremating the rest of his remains.
Kurt insisted the ‘neuro-separation’ was actually a ‘mutilation’.
Dr. Jerry Lemler, president and CEO of Alcor Life Extension Foundation, stands in the Patient Care Bay area where the heads and bodies of 49 individuals are being held in cold storage suspension (July, 2002)
He said he didn’t learn that his father’s head had been removed from his body until a day after he received the ashes, when he had them tested.
After viewing photos of Alcor’s facility, Kurt says he was also left wondering if his father’s head was even being stored in Arizona.
In court filings, Alcor say they invited Kurt and his brother to the facility to help answer any doubts the family had. Alcor say they declined.
Alcor says on its website that some people prefer preserving just the head.
A full body may not be necessary in the future, it notes, because it may be possible to regrow a young, healthy body around a functioning brain.
‘Generally speaking, many people in cryonics may feel the brain is the most important thing to be preserved,’ Arrowood told AZ Central.
Kurt said he was ‘shocked to say the least’ on the morning his father’s ashes arrived in the mail.
Inheriting an handsome estate from his father, Kurt says Laurence would want him to fit the case on his behalf, and is determined to use his resources to do so.
‘A lot of people said I was just wasting my time, don't do it, you've got better things to do,' he said. 'But I felt that I couldn't let them get away with this.
‘If I walk away, they are just going to keep doing this and it’s wrong.’
Kurt says he’s requesting his father’s head – should Alcor still have it – be returned to the family so they can cremate it and skatter his full ashes on their family’s ranch.
‘I think he would probably want it that way, based on the series of events that have happened,’ Kurt said,
So far, Kurt says he’s spent $500,000 on the mounting the case against Alcor. Still in its researching stage, the dispute with go to trial in 2020.
