Iowa appeals court orders Burlington man's body exhumed to freeze head

The Iowa Court of Appeals has ordered the relatives of a deceased Burlington man to exhume his body so his head can be cut off and cryogenically frozen.

The court sided with Alcor Life Extension Foundation of Scottsdale, Ariz., which sought to dig up the remains of 81-year-old Orville Richardson, who died in February 2009.

Richardson had signed a contract with Alcor to have his head placed in cryonic suspension. When he died, Richardson's brother and sister buried him instead.

Alcor filed a lawsuit to exhume Richardson's body but a Des Moines Country District Court judge ruled against the company, which appealed.

The appeals court overturned the district court's decision Wednesday, saying Alcor was entitled to his remains.

Telephone messages left for attorneys in the case were not immediately returned.

Read more about the case at the

Burlington Hawk Eye's site.