The fate of Sherman Hemsley's body, which is now being claimed by three
people, could be decided next week in an El Paso courtroom as a probate judge
is expected to name the proper beneficiary.
The body of the actor, who became famous for his role in the sitcom "The
Jeffersons," has been kept frozen in an East El Paso funeral home since July,
when he died.
The body is to stay there until a civil lawsuit between Flora Isela
Enchinton Bernal, who is Hemsley's listed beneficiary, and Richard Thornton, a
Philadelphia man claiming to be his brother, is settled.
The dispute is to go before Judge Patricia Chew at 9 a.m. Monday in
Probate Court No. 1.
Hemsley, who was born and raised in Philadelphia, died of lung cancer on
July 24 at his home in East El Paso in the 11400 block of Tom Ulozas Drive.
A month earlier, on June 23, he had signed a will leaving his estate to
Enchinton and naming her the executrix of the will.
Enchinton could not be reached for comment for this article. But in a
previous interview, Enchinton said she and Hemsley were best friends and
business partners.
She managed him for about 20 years, but one of the times he was in the
hospital, Hemsley told doctors that she was his next of kin, she said.
"We lived together and traveled together," Enchinton said in an August
interview with the El Paso Times. "This was more than just business partners.
He was my brother and my best friend."
In late August, Thornton's lawyer, Mark Davis, filed a lawsuit challenging the
validity of the will, which caused the funeral home to hold his body until the
dispute is settled.
Thornton could not be reached for comment, and his lawyer Davis did not
return a message seeking comment.
Another man has also come forward to dispute the will.
Robert Wells, who said his mother's grandmother was the sister of
Hemsley's mother, said neither Enchinton Bernal nor Thornton should be the
beneficiary.
Wells said his mother, who he said was like a sister to Hemsley, should
be the proper next of kin and the one to decide what happens to his estate and
body.
"I really question the will because it looks that strange he signed it a
month before he died," said Wells, who also lives in Philadelphia. "I never
knew a Mr. Thornton, and my family knows nothing about him.
"You got two people in court going over Sherman's estate. They want to
bury the body and go to court and get the money."
Wells said he had met Enchinton on a few occasions. Wellis said that he
spoke with Enchinton on June 1 and that she never told him Hemsley was dying.
"That concerns me because he was sick and dying and he put a will
together," Wells said. "It's pitiful for one, because she is telling people
she never heard from his family."
Enchinton never made that claim to the El Paso Times but was paraphrased
by The Associated Press as saying Hemsley never mentioned family members.
But she did respond to Thornton's lawsuit.
"I can understand people who lived with him having a say" in his funeral,
Enchinton said to the Times. "But people who come out of nowhere and who don't
know anything about his life to come out and try to say what should be done
with him."
Because of the pending court hearing, Enchinton said she could not be
specific.
"I have high respect for the court system in El Paso," she said. "And I
believe justice will prevail."
Wells said Enchinton has plans to cremate Hemsley's body, but he wants to
bury the actor.
"He has a burial plot for him and his mother here in Phi ladelphia,"
Wells said. "We just want to make sure he is laid to rest properly."
