Dog the Bounty Hunter star Beth Chapman passed away at 51 years old at the end of June. Friends, family, and fans around the world have come together to mourn the loss and celebrate the life of Beth, but some fans seem to have taken it too far.
In September of 2017, Beth was diagnosed with stage II throat cancer.
Just two months later, she announced that she was cancer free. By November of 2018, however, the cancer had returned.
After being rushed to the hospital, Beth was told her cancer had spread.
Beth had opted out of chemotherapy treatments this time, declaring that this cancer diagnosis was a test of faith. On June 22nd, Beth was rushed to the hospital yet again.
This time she was placed in a medically induced coma.
On June 26th, Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman announced on Twitter that his wife had passed away, surrounded by those she loved.
Dog has since given an emotional interview discussing the toll Beth’s passing has taken on him.
He claimed he had lost his appetite entirely and in the two weeks that followed Beth’s passing he had already lost 17 pounds.
Dog also revealed that Beth had been cremated.
Dog admitted that he had struggled with the idea of cremation, but that it was Beth’s wishes. He said, “Well, I’ve never done ashes in my life, and that’s what she wanted.”
“And then she wants me to do it and be put in the same thing,” Dog continued.
“When I was a little boy, all the Christians [said] you can’t get burned because then you won’t rise from the grave with Jesus.”
Dog said that he had raised this question to Beth.
“And then I said, ‘Honey, you know, what about that?’ She goes, ‘It’s from ashes to ashes to dust to dust.'”
“Well, she said scatter some, leave some on the fireplace.”
“Of course when I go to heaven, she wants me in the box with her,” Dog added. He also discussed how he originally had wanted to bring the ashes with him, but realized it wasn’t healthy.
“I wanted to put them in the car and seatbelt them in,” he said.
“But that’s like, morbid, you know? You gotta really watch it. These are the times when people go over the edge. And you really gotta watch how you do ’cause my life, I went through experiences to help others — I really mean this.”
Dog explained he hadn’t yet been able to scatter Beth’s ashes as she had asked.
“You know, I was going to do all the scattering, and then I looked at it and thought, ‘I’m not gonna throw you, like, away. I’m just gonna throw you away and start over?’ I can’t do that,”
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“I haven’t gotten past the place where I’m still putting a pillow where she was.”
“And covering it up, like the jailhouse escape, right? I mean it. And then I wake up in the middle of the night and I see her and it doesn’t register that ain’t her. I’m still there.”
Dog said that for now, Beth’s ashes remain on the nightstand next to the bed.
“I leave it next to the bed right there and I think that might be where it’s going to be forever,” Dog said.
Some fans seem to have overstepped their boundaries when it comes to Beth’s ashes.
Beth and Dog’s daughter, Bonnie Jo Chapman, took to Instagram to do a Q&A about how the family is handling life after Beth’s Chapman, and followed it up with a request to fans.
“Please don’t ask me for my mother’s ashes.”
“Ashes are for family, no one else.” Bonnie wrote on a photo of the family from the funeral service. “No exceptions.”
Bonnie has also asked that people stop spreading rumors about her family during this time of grief.
Some people have been spreading rumors that Bonnie Jo is the Chapman’s step-daughter, or that she was related to the family some other way. Bonnie Jo claims that this is hurtful to her mostly because she knows her mother wouldn’t stand for that kind of information being spread.
