Crypt above Marilyn Monroe's up for sale

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- A California woman plans to list the crypt now occupied by her husband on eBay with a unique selling point: It is just above the one where Marilyn Monroe rests.

Elsie Poncher told the Los Angeles Times the minimum bid will be $500,000 for the crypt at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park. She wants the money to pay off the $1.6 million mortgage on her house in Beverly Hills.

"I can't be more honest than that," she said. "I want to leave it free and clear for my kids."

Poncher said her husband, Richard, who died 23 years ago, bought two crypts from Monroe's ex-husband, Yankee great Joe DiMaggio. She said she will move her husband's body into the other crypt and, when her time comes, her body will be cremated so her ashes can be placed there as well.

The cemetery has a long list of celebrity residents in addition to Monroe. Recently, Farrah Fawcett was buried there, and other occupants include Natalie Wood, Dean Martin, Rodney Dangerfield, Merv Griffin, Mel Torme and Truman Capote.