DNA test too late for use in trial for Sherman Hemsley estate

Click photo to enlarge

Sherman Hemsley in a 1998 file photo.

A DNA test proving that a Philadelphia man is the brother of Sherman Hemsley can't be used in next week's trial because the results were submitted too late to the court, the man's lawyer said.

Richard Thornton, the Phila del phia man who says he is Hemsley's brother, is challenging a will left behind by Hemsley that lists Hemsley's friend Flora Isela Enchinton Bernal as his beneficiary.

A hearing to settle the issue is to take place Friday before Probate Court No. 1. Judge Patricia B. Chew.

Hemsley, who starred in the TV sitcom "The Jeffersons," died in El Paso on July 24 of lung cancer. His body is being kept at the San Jose Funeral Home on the East Side.

During a Sept. 24 hearing, Chew granted Thornton and

Davis asked for an extension on Oct. 19, but it was denied, court records show.

On Thursday, Davis said in a news release that a "delay at the funeral home caused the late filing."

Davis is also alleging that the delay might have been caused by problems with the San Jose Funeral Home because the funeral home's owner, Sergio Vargas, used to date Enchinton's daughter.

More here:
DNA test too late for use in trial for Sherman Hemsley estate