The plan for Aaron Carter‘s cremated remains has been revealed by his family.
The late singer’s mother, Jane Carter, said the family will gather this spring to scatter his ashes in the waters off the Florida Keys in his home state of Florida. She told TMZ that Aaron’s remains will be mixed with those of his sister Leslie, who died in 2012. Angel Carter Conrad — Aaron’s twin sister — was given Aaron’s remains after he was cremated following his Nov. 5 death.
Jane, also mom to Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter, went on to reveal that some of the ashes from both Aaron and Leslie will also be kept and buried with her when she eventually dies.
As for the ash scattering ceremony, Jane said that Aaron’s on-again, off-again fiancée Melanie Martin —with whom he shared a 1-year-old son, Prince — will not be invited to participate. She also revealed that singer Lance Bass, who has said he viewed Aaron as a “little brother,” extended an offer to the Carter family to hold a memorial for Aaron at his L.A. home. However, the family paused immediate plans for a memorial because they’ve been getting death threats since Aaron’s death.
Aaron, who struggled with addiction and mental illness, had an up and down relationship with his family — who starred in the reality show House of Carters. In recent years, he was estranged from both Nick and Angel, who sought restraining orders against Aaron in 2019. As for Jane — who was named as the informant of Aaron’s death certificate — she told the outlet she and Aaron texted in the days before he died. She said one text from him asked how the family was doing in Florida.
Carter was found dead, reportedly in his bathtub, on Nov. 5. While Yahoo Entertainment confirmed then that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department found the singer’s body at his home in Lancaster, Calif., his cause of death has yet to be determined pending toxicology tests.
Despite that, the Los Angeles Times and TMZ reported in the days after the 34-year-old died, that police had discovered evidence of compressed air canisters and medications in the bedroom and bathroom Carter used. The “Aaron’s Party” singer had been open about having struggled huffing during his troubled life.
Last week, Aaron’s manager Taylor Helgeson responded to criticism that he didn’t do enough for Aaron amid his addictions to drugs and alcohol in an interview with Yahoo.
“It seems like people are more upset that we didn’t publicly expose him. Why would you do that? To somebody you care about? If you really want to help them, you talk in private,” Helgeson said. “Aaron had real friends, real family. We talked much in private. We did a lot of work.”
He said that Aaron’s team was trying to help him behind the scenes, including taking him to rehab in 2017.
“We know what we tried. We know what we did. I sleep easy at night knowing I tried my best for my friend until he died,” Helgeson said. “And if it was a cartoon and we could have tied him to the ground and dragged him to the treatment center, then we would’ve done that. But it’s not, it’s real life. And there’s a helplessness that comes with watching somebody go through addiction.”
After Aaron’s death, Nick sobbed during a tribute to him during a Backstreet Boys concert in London. On social media, he wrote, “I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know.”
Angel wrote that she loved her twin “beyond measure… I have so many memories of you and I, and I promise to cherish them. I know you’re at peace now.”
Martin, who wasn’t with Aaron when he died, said her “heart is completely broken … I knew he was struggling, and I tried everything to help him. He has a very independent and strong personality, and I couldn’t help him in the way I felt he needed it.” The couple had lost custody of their baby boy amid their turbulent relationship, and the child was being raised by Martin’s mother.
