O’HAIR ESTATE HITS AUCTION BLOCK

The personal belongings of atheist Madilyn Murray O’Hair went on the auction block in January in an effort to pay off $250,000 in debts, including back taxes and creditors’ fees. The auctioned property was seized by the Internal Revenue Service.

O’Hair, along with a son and granddaughter, vanished in September 1995 during a planned trip to San Antonio. They have not been seen or heard from since. Opinions vary as to the threesome’s whereabouts. Some suspect foul play, while others suggest a planned, self-disappearance to a life of leisure and seclusion. Another of O’Hair’s sons, William Murray, a born again Christian, believes that his estranged family members, including his daughter, are dead.

The possessions included O’Hair’s handwritten diaries, photographs, her birth certificate and a children’s Bible given in 1988 to the atheist by a group of 12-year-old girls from a Baptist Church in Oklahoma. Other, mundane items, such as clothing, books and dishes also were put up for sale.

The auction was the second attempt to sell off the estate. A federal bankruptcy petition was filed on O’Hair’s behalf in March 1997 which blocked an initial attempt to liquidate the assets.

O’Hair first gained fame for her successful battle to have organized prayer removed from public schools in 1963. For nearly three decades, she also has been linked to unfounded rumors of a petition to the Federal Communications Commission that requested removal of all religious programming from television and radio.

—MKG

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