When 94-year-old Theresa Campora Donlon died of natural causes on June 24, 2006, little could she have known that her multimillion-dollar estate would stir up so much drama and whodunit intrigue.
The wide-ranging case touches on allegations of theft, homicide and a deathbed revelation.
Although the estate remains in judicial limbo, Santa Fe First Judicial District Court Judge James Hall last month approved a “partial distribution” of $750,000 from the estate to both the Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis. The two organizations are the chief and equal beneficiaries of Donlon’s estate. Still, both the shelter and the cathedral have been dragged into the controversy.