SAN ANTONIO – Relatives of Katrina Geryk, the 24-year-old woman who was found strangled in her Northwest Bexar County home last Wednesday, said they are having a hard time saying goodbye -- and not just because of their grief.
Her aunt, Monica Wilson, said a Texas law is standing in the way of them making funeral and burial plans.
"We flew here from Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and we have been hitting a brick wall," she said.
A section of the state's Health and Safety Code, which deals with death and disposition of decedents' bodies, says the spouse of a person who dies is the first in line when it comes to determining what should become of the remains.
Geryk's 24-year-old husband, Jonathan, has been in jail since he allegedly confessed to her murder.
Bexar County sheriff's investigators said he walked into a San Antonio police substation just after midnight Wednesday, accompanied by a relative, and told officers that he had just killed his wife. Police then contacted the sheriff's office because the couple's home is located outside the city limits.
Even though Jonathan Geryk is accused of killing his wife, he still has the right, by law, to decide what happens next.
"When this happens, families shouldn't have to go through this and be victimized every day until there's closure," Wilson said.
Andrew G. Ramon, a probate attorney who is not involved in the case, said that until a person is proven guilty in a court of law, he or she retains all of the rights granted to U.S. citizens.
"No one has the power to take those husbands' powers away unless you have a hearing in front of a probate judge, no matter what he admitted to, or no matter what people believe he did," Ramon said.
Ramon said, however, that the family of Katrina Geryk does have options. He said they can file an emergency petition to have the rights overturned, based on the circumstances of the case.
"And in that situation, the court will appoint the next heir. So it could be a child, an adult child of the deceased, or sometimes a parent," he said.
The process, Ramon said, could take about a week to complete.
Wilson said she and her relatives don't have that time. Many of them are scheduled to return to their homes on Tuesday.
To help them feel a sense of closure about Katrina's death, Wilson said, the family instead will hold a memorial service on Monday evening.
Ramon, meanwhile, recommends that people plan ahead. He said one way to avoid problems is to file paperwork in advance, making it clear who should make decisions about their remains after death.