Late GREAT WHITE Guitarist's Girlfriend, Parents Embroiled In Public War Of Words

Heidi M. Peralta, girlfriend of late GREAT WHITE guitarist Ty Longley, has raised questions about the Ty Longley Memorial Fund, which is controlled by Longley's parents, saying the only way to ensure that money will get to her unborn child is to donate to a fund that she has established — the Baby Longley Fund.

Longley's parents have defended the Ty Longley Memorial Fund, saying most of the money will go into a trust fund for the child, while some will go into annual scholarships for aspiring artists near Longley's hometown.

But the fund-raising is just one part of a wider rift between Longley's parents and Peralta. It has gotten to the point that Peralta has filed a complaint with police and both sides have contacted lawyers.

"For some darn reason, she tried to take over everything," Longley's father told the Providence Journal. For example, he says Peralta "took over" the tylongley.com web site, so Longley's parents started a new web site: tylongley.org.

Peralta says she plans to press charges against Longley's parents in part for "hacking into Ty's web site." Longley's mother, who is divorced from Longley's father, says they never hacked into the site. She says they made a web site payment that had been missed and Peralta took back control of the site within days.

For her part, Peralta says Longley's parents did not invite her when they buried a portion of his ashes. Some of his ashes were placed in vials and given to friends and relatives, but the Longleys refused to give her a vial, she says.

Longley's father says the burial took place on short notice and, "I didn't want the Heidi show." As for the ashes, he says, "I'm saying she doesn't deserve them. These are the baby's ashes."

To read the rest of the Providence Journal article, click here.