by emad » Thu Dec 22, 2005 2:31 pm
Alistair Cooke's 'bones stolen' <br>By Guto Harri <br>BBC News, New York <br><br><br> <br>Alistair Cooke was mourned on both sides of the Atlantic <br>An investigation is under way in New York into allegations that the bones of the late broadcaster Alistair Cooke were stolen before his cremation. <br>Mr Cooke, known for the Letter from America he broadcast for the BBC, died almost two years ago, aged 95. <br><br>According to the New York Daily News his bones were stolen by a criminal ring trading body parts. <br><br>They were later sold by a biomedical tissue company now under investigation, the paper claims. <br><br>This is a grim and ghoulish tale which has understandably appalled everyone who knew Alistair Cooke. <br><br>When he died of cancer in March 2004 his body was taken to a funeral home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. <br><br>Two days later the family received his ashes. <br><br>Dental implants <br><br>As tributes were paid on both sides of the Atlantic to this iconic broadcaster, his family grieved. <br><br>Now they have been told that body snatchers allegedly surgically removed his bones and sold them for more than $7,000 (£4,000) to a company supplying parts for use in dental implants and various orthopaedic procedures. <br><br>The US attorney general's office in Brooklyn is investigating an elaborate ring involving funeral directors, surgeons and entrepreneurs. <br><br>Alistair Cooke's daughter, Susan Kittredge, said she was shocked and saddened. <br><br>And, as the cause of his death was at least partially bone cancer, she was equally appalled that patients in need of healthy transplant pieces could have received these diseased bones. <br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4552742.stm">news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...552742.stm</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><br>EITHER it's to DNA test them and prove he was an impostor/Raygun-Bush1 plant or...... he'll eventually be found with the skeleton of those other notable missing icons on the 20th century: Shergar and Lord Lucan.<br><br> <br> <p></p><i></i>
