Report Says Williams’ DNA Missing

NEW YORK — Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams was decapitated by surgeons at the cryonics company where his body is suspended in liquid nitrogen, and several samples of his DNA are missing, Sports Illustrated reported.

The magazine’s report, appearing in this week’s issue, is based on internal documents, e-mails, photographs and tape recordings supplied by a former employee of Alcor Life Extension Foundation.

After Williams died July 5, 2002, his body was taken by private jet to the company in Scottsdale, Ariz. There, Williams’ body was separated from his head in a procedure called neuroseparation, according to the magazine.

The operation was completed and Williams’ head and body were preserved separately. The head is stored in a steel can filled with liquid nitrogen. It has been shaved, drilled with holes and accidentally cracked 10 times, the magazine said.

The magazine said that according to a taped conversation between former Alcor chief operating officer Larry Johnson and a board advisor, eight DNA samples among 182 taken from Williams are missing without explanation.