Poor Mary Richardson Kennedy: the troubled, estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy cannot even rest in peace, as Robert Kennedy and her relatives battled over her body yesterday. Her brother filed papers in court to challenge RFK's handling of Mary Kennedy's body. According to the Daily News, her family "didn’t want her to be buried beside members of the Kennedy clan in Hyannisport."
On Wednesday, Mary Kennedy's body was found in an outbuilding on her Mt. Kisco, NY property; the cause of death was asphyxiation by hanging. Her friends blamed her suicide and years of problems (she was arrested for drunk driving twice in 2010, around the time RFK filed for divorce) on her estranged husband and noted his cheating and callous behavior.
The NY Times reports, "The release of the body was delayed after her brother, Thomas W. Richardson, went to court to challenge Mr. Kennedy over control of her body, Westchester County officials said. Justice Joan B. Lefkowitz of State Supreme Court in White Plains signed an order directing the medical examiner to turn over the body to the Clark Associates Funeral Home in Katonah, N.Y., which has been preparing for a funeral at Mr. Kennedy’s request.... Still uncertain is whether she will be buried near the Kennedy family compound in Hyannisport, Mass., on Cape Cod, as Mr. Kennedy desires."
A friend of Mary Kennedy's told the News earlier this week, "Hyannisport? You mean the place from which she had been virtually banned for the past two years?” But Douglas Kennedy, Robert's brother, told reporters at last night's wake, "We’re just trying to take care of Bobby and Mary’s kids. That’s all anyone should be caring about... She was part of our family. She loved for everyone to be together which is what we’re doing tonight." The couple had four children together.
Mary Kennedy has known the Kennedys since befriending Kerry Kennedy when they were 15 and at boarding school. Kerry Kennedy considered Mary Kennedy her best friend and the Post reports that she was "overwhelmed with emotion" outside the funeral today, "She just lived her life to the fullest. She did everything she could for her friends and she loved her children more than anything else... Connor was her prince. Kiera, her little girl, looked exactly like Mary. On Tuesday she was talking about where Kiera was going to school and what she was going to do this summer, and she just loved her children more than anything."
The Post adds, "mourners also included...Caroline Kennedy, Joe Kennedy, Larry David, Edward James Olmos, John McEnroe, Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd and Andre Balázs." It's unclear if RFK's new girlfriend, actress Cheryl Hines (and David's co-star) was present.
