They had to ask the mayor’s office and the police to help with barriers at the church, and officers to restrain the crowds. It was a nightmare they hadn’t expected. And when Billy’s casket was brought to the funeral parlor from the airport, they had to use riot police to control the crowds, and an armed guard to protect the casket. Marilyn, Jack, and Larry couldn’t even get to the funeral parlor to see him. Finally the police escorted them there at midnight in an unmarked car. The press were lying in wait for them, but the fans had gone home by then, once they realized they were not going to be allowed in. And other grieving families at the funeral parlor were justifiably incensed at the disruption. In some ways, it made the grief easier to bear, because every aspect of what had happened was a trauma. Marilyn sent Brian to stay with the O’Haras, and Sean kept him company until the funeral. He remembered only too well what it had been like to lose an adored older brother. And Brian had worshipped Billy.
