Schiavo Burial Provokes New Fight

(CBS/AP)  The burial of Terri Schiavo's cremated remains didn't bring an end to the acrimony between her husband and her family.

Michael Schiavo angered his late wife's family Monday by not notifying them about the burial beforehand

Still, her parents welcomed the news until they found that a graveside plaque reads "I kept my promise," reports Gordon Byrd of CBS radio affiliate WHNZ.

Michael Schiavo — who said he promised his wife he would not keep her alive artificially — also listed Feb. 25, 1990, as the date his wife "Departed this Earth."

On that date, Schiavo collapsed and fell into what most doctors said was an irreversible vegetative state.

Schiavo actually died March 31, nearly two weeks after her feeding tube was removed by court order. The grave marker lists that date as when Schiavo was "at peace."

David Gibbs, an attorney for the woman's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, decried the inscriptions on the marker. "Obviously, that's a real shot and another unkind act toward a grieving mom and dad," Gibbs said.

Two days after Terri Schiavo's death, the 41-year-old was cremated and her husband was given possession of her remains.

Michael Schiavo had said her ashes would be buried at a family plot in Pennsylvania. But on Monday his attorney, George Felos, said in a statement that the service and burial had taken place at Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park in Clearwater.

The statement did not explain why Schiavo, who lives near Clearwater, decided to keep his wife's remains in Florida. He did not return a phone call seeking additional information.

"We're hopeful that there was some effort here to show some kindness" to the Schindlers, Gibbs said of the decision to bury the body in Florida.

But "to hear that we put these unkind words on the marker to make it so painful negates a lot of the benefit of having it in Florida," Gibbs said.

Schiavo's parents had opposed her cremation. Services for Schiavo already had been conducted in nearby Gulfport, where her parents live, and in Pennsylvania, where she grew up.

The Schindlers' attorney said the family was notified by fax only after Monday's service, when the family had already started getting calls from reporters.

A pond and fountain also mark the woman's grave, where the flat bronze marker was festooned with flowers Monday evening.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page »