Schiavo Autopsy Completed

The autopsy of Terri Schiavo has been completed, and the body is ready for release to her husband, who plans to cremate her remains and bury the ashes in an unspecified family plot.

Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, and Michael Schiavo spent Friday planning separate funerals for the 41-year-old woman, who died Thursday — 13 days after her feeding tube was removed.

Terri Schiavo had been at the center of a long legal battle over whether she would have wanted to be kept alive with the feeding tube for 15 years after suffering a devastating brain injury.

Michael Schiavo has said he hopes the autopsy will settle questions about his wife's medical condition, but experts differ on whether that will happen. He declined to comment Friday.

Results from the brain-damaged woman's autopsy, which was completed Friday, were not be released for several weeks, according to the medical examiner's office.

The Schindlers have scheduled a funeral Mass for Tuesday. The Mass will be preceded by a gathering for people to express their condolences.

Michael Schiavo's family has said he plans to take the cremated remains to Pennsylvania, where Terri Schiavo grew up, but her parents and siblings had wanted to bury her body in Florida so they can visit her grave.

David Gibbs, the Schindlers' attorney, said there have been no further discussions between the two parties about the remains. The Schindlers do not plan to press the issue in court, he said.

"The court has already determined that (Michael Schiavo) will control the burial decisions," Gibbs said.