A judge has ordered exhumation of the remains of Rosemary "Mama" Cosby to determine the cause of death of the Faith Temple Pentecostal Church founder.
Third District Judge William A. Thorne granted the petition by Rosalind Cazares, a daughter of the deceased, after hearing arguments from her attorney, Nanci Bockelie, and Bruce Reading, the lawyer representing Mama Cosby's husband and successor, Bishop Robert C. Cosby.Robert Cosby, who remains pastor of Faith Temple despite a split of its 400-member congregation over his leadership, and Cazares are engaged in a long-running probate battle -- punctuated by allegations of financial mismanagement and documents doctoring -- over Mama Cosby's multimillion-dollar estate.
Bockelie said the exhumation was justified "because her death was unexpected, sudden . . . and unattended by anyone but her husband," who ended up receiving full title to many of her properties under allegedly questionable circumstances.
"Any issues regarding her death will be put to rest, one way or another" by an autopsy, Bockelie said Wednesday.
Cazares' petition argued that under the laws of Florida, where her mother died, purportedly of a heart attack on Jan. 4, 1997, an autopsy should have been performed. Robert Cosby refused to give his permission for one.
The Florida Medical Examiner's Office listed the cause of death as "hypertensive cardiovascular disorder," apparently based on Robert Cosby's assertion that his wife had high blood pressure and had run out of her medication.
However, Cazares said her 65-year-old mother, a charismatic preacher and pillar in Salt Lake's African-American community, appeared to be in good health before her death at the family's St. Cloud, Fla., vacation home. Police found several prescription medicines at the home, but none of them belonged to Mama Cosby.
Robert Cosby's attorney, Bruce Reading, argued that exhumation and autopsy petition lacked the compelling reasons required by law.