Charles Manson's cause of death revealed amid fight over his estate
Mass murderer Charles Manson died from acute cardiac arrest complicated by a battle with colon cancer.
His death certificate, obtained by TMZ, listed the causes and said respiratory failure was another factor.
A heavily redacted prison worksheet obtained by the Daily News through a public records request said Manson weighed only 127 pounds when he died Nov. 19 at 83.
California prison officials previously confirmed Manson died at a hospital in Bakersfield, Calif., and that his body was released to the Kern County coroner.
A battle over his remains has since broken out.
RELATED: A look back at Charles Manson and the Manson family cult
Two wills reportedly surfaced shortly after Manson's death, with each one leaving his estate to a different person.
Manson pal Ben Gurecki told The News he obtained a January 2017 will from Manson and passed it along to Manson's self-proclaimed "son," Matthew Roberts, in March.
He said Roberts was named as the main beneficiary.
"I can assure you Matthew will be handling this," Gurecki has said. "Charlie will be given a headstone, a proper burial, where people will be able to grieve, or deface it as they see fit."
Meanwhile, TMZ obtained a February 2002 will from Manson pen pal Michael Channels that reportedly disinherited all of Manson's relatives.
Besides the two alleged wills, Manson's grandson Jason Freeman told The News last month he hoped to claim Manson's remains.
State officials have so far declined to comment on any final wishes left by Manson. A decision on his remains is on hold pending a court ruling, TMZ reported.
Manson's estate reportedly could have some value.
The convicted killer was a musician who wrote a Beach Boys song and worked on other projects, including an album released through Gurecki.
Manson's followers killed six people at his direction during a terrifying two-night murder spree in August 1969.
Actress Sharon Tate, who was 8½ months pregnant, begged for her life as she was stabbed repeatedly inside her Los Angeles house, along with coffee heiress Abigail Folger, celebrity hair stylist Jay Sebring and two others.
The next night, Manson's gang chose another house at random and brutally murdered wealthy grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary.
Manson was eventually convicted of nine murders in all and spent nearly a half century in prison.
He was sentenced to death originally, but that was commuted to life with the possibility of parole when the death penalty was briefly outlawed in 1972.
Prosecutors said Manson and his followers were trying to incite an Armageddon-like race war named after the Beatles song "Helter Skelter."
Manson was denied parole 12 times between November 1978 and April 2012.
