The life of conman Jeffrey Lash was not straightforward, to say the least, and even after his passing, he is still causing confusion. For years, Lash kept a woman – Catherine – captive in his Pacific Palisades condominium. Besides using mental manipulation to keep her under his bidding, he even went as far as constructing makeshift doors and walls to limit her access to certain rooms of the condo.
As odd as it might seem, however, he would allow her to run errands for him in town. Not surprisingly, though, the errands were almost-always to go and purchase items for him with her own money. Due to her fear that he was a trained killer working for the government, Catherine would willingly return to the condo once her time away was completed.
The strangeness of this story does not end there. Another woman named Michelle lived in a separate condo in a very similar state. The place was piled floor to ceiling with hoarded items she had purchased for Lash, also believing some of this constructed fabrications. Michelle was apparently Jeffrey's longtime lover, seeing him or speaking with him every day. What's more, every night she would bring him bags of food and other supplies, all purchased with her own money.
(The Palisadian-Post published a full article about the story, which can be seen here.)
The State of Lash's Estate
Possibly due to cancer-related illnesses, Lash passed away in an SUV in front of one of his condos weeks ago. Now the question of what to do with his estate – which is considerably large due to all the purchases Catherine, Michelle, and other women made for him over the years – is up in the air. Almost a dozen people are stepping up and claiming to be Lash's cousins, which could give them first rights to his estate.
Our professional Santa Clarita probate attorneys here at Cohen Law are representing Michelle. We are currently teaming up with another law firm that is representing Catherine to ensure that these two women get their fair share of Lash's estate. After all, they spent years financially supporting the eccentric hoarder and were potentially mentally and physically abused by him, earning them some sort of compensation. It is our estimate that Michelle may have spent more than a million dollars on him. We are confident with careful analysis of the evidence and a constant eye on this case as it develops, we will be able to find a satisfactory conclusion for Ms. Michelle.
If you would like to know more about this ongoing story – or if you need help establishing your right to an estate – you can contact us at (661) 418-2793 today.