CANTON ‒ Nine months after her death, Martha Ingram's cremains are stuck in legal purgatory.

Her sister wants them. So did a formerly unidentified neighbor who paid for Ingram's cremation. But, Canton's Rhoden Memorial Home — caught between two claimants — still has the ashes.

The 62-year-old Alliance woman died on March 14. Her simple one-sentence obituary appeared on Cantonrep.com four days later: "Martha Ingram passed away at Aultman Alliance Hospital."

The tug of war over her final resting place has landed in Stark County Probate Court. During a hearing on Dec. 10, Judge Curt Werren provided clarity as to the future outcome.

"Sister certainly trumps neighbor," he said.

The stalemate was recently presented to the judge as part of Ingram's estate, valued at only $5,000. It's being

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