HARTFORD, Conn. – The body of the man who massacred 26 people at a Connecticut elementary school was claimed by his father, a family spokesman said Monday, but the public may never know what happened with the remains.

Like families of other mass killers, Adam Lanza’s father has to balance his own mourning with consideration for the victims, intense media scrutiny and the risk that a public gravesite could be desecrated.

“I know it’s very sensitive for the family. They have many, many concerns and it’s a very sad time for them,” said Kingston, N.H. Police Chief Donald Briggs, a family acquaintance who helped the Lanzas coordinate services for Lanza’s slain mother.