DNA to Settle Feud Over Homeless Corpse

Northington, 59, had been disabled and homeless, living in shelters,
seemingly detached from any family. Two weeks ago, he was struck and
killed as he tried to board an MBTA bus in downtown Boston. Witnesses
said the bus driver turned Northington away because he didn’t have enough
change. As the bus pulled away, Northington, carrying a pair of crutches
and a bag full of clothes, was somehow pulled underneath the rear tires.
He was killed instantly.

33-year-old Thomas Leslie told police that he and Northington were just
getting getting reacquainted after years of little to no contact. "He
wasn’t named on my birth certificate," said Leslie, who wants to
be declared the next of kin. He said he is willing to submit to a DNA
test and has
asked that tissue and blood samples be taken from Northington.

Just a few days before Northington’s death, the two were making plans
for Christmas, Leslie said. "I wish we had more time," Leslie
said, quietly sobbing. "He was just starting to accept us, wanting
to get to know my family."

Growing up, Leslie said, his relationship with his father consisted of
occassional phone calls and a visit here and there. "My mother met
my father after he moved here from Kentucky, more than 30 years ago," he
said. "They had a six-year relationship, but they never married."

Leslie added: "I remember every conversation we had, from my childhood
to adulthood. He ended it by saying, `I love you.’ So I know I don’t
have to prove anything. I know he loved me."

But all this is news to Northington’s sister Kathleen Huddleston and to her Boston nieces and nephews,
who said they were in contact with their uncle Tommy on a regular basis.
No one knew about Leslie.

from the Boston Globe