Recovery Delays Fuel Internecine Strife
The agonizing process of recovering the mangled bodies of John F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Bessette, and her sister Lauren was overshadowed by a bitter family dispute, just hours after the tragic plane crash that claimed their lives. New revelations, drawn from private diaries kept by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., expose a deep rift within the Kennedy clan and tensions with the Bessette family, even before the deceased had been physically retrieved.
RFK Jr. documented a "tense conference call" where plans for funerals were discussed. He noted initial disbelief, writing, "I wasn't worried at all because anything can happen with John." The diaries reportedly detail a heated meeting in New York City, three days after the July 16, 1999 crash. During this gathering, other Kennedy family members allegedly informed Ann Freeman, Carolyn Bessette's grieving mother, that JFK Jr. would be interred in the family plot in Brookline, Massachusetts, while asserting, "they could do with Carolyn as they pleased."
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Eulogy Rights Spark Further Conflict
The dispute extended to funeral arrangements, with reports of the Kennedy family stating that "Kennedys do not eulogize non-Kennedys," a remark allegedly made by Ed Schlossberg, husband of Caroline Kennedy, to Lisa Bessette, Carolyn's sister. Lisa had proposed that RFK Jr. eulogize both John and Carolyn, given his close relationship with the couple. Ultimately, Ted Kennedy was designated to deliver a eulogy for John Jr., while Hamilton South, a friend of Carolyn's, was chosen for her. RFK Jr. himself delivered a eulogy at a memorial service in Connecticut.
The families eventually agreed to a burial at sea, with the ashes of all three victims scattered into the Atlantic Ocean, not far from the crash site off Martha's Vineyard. The trio had been en route to Hyannis Port for the wedding of Rory Kennedy, RFK Jr.'s sister.
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Personal Turmoil and Broader Revelations
Beyond the immediate aftermath of the crash, RFK Jr.'s diaries, slated for release in a new book, RFK, Jr.: The Fall and Rise, also touch upon personal struggles. These include past battles with addiction, heart ailments beginning in his twenties, and accounts of intimate relationships detailed with a complex rating system. The diaries also reportedly mention flights with figures such as Jeffrey Epstein and encounters with "lust demons."
John F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Bessette, and Lauren Bessette perished on July 16, 1999, when Kennedy's Piper Saratoga aircraft went down off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. John Kennedy Jr. was 38, Carolyn Bessette was 33, and Lauren Bessette was 34 at the time of their deaths. The flight deviated from its planned schedule, taking off late and shortly after sunset, with a stop planned to drop Lauren off at Martha's Vineyard before proceeding to Hyannis Port.
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