In the article he gave a link to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denial of a new trial. There is a little tidbit in there worth reading.
The brothers knew that Jose had a will, but
questions remained at the time as to the location of the will
and whether Jose had written more than one.
Jose’s 1981 will, which left everything to Erik and Lyle,
was not immediately recovered. The brothers, however, had
reason to fear that Jose might have written a new will, one
that would leave them nothing. Erik testified that his mother
told him that Jose had disinherited Erik. The day after the
murders, Erik and Lyle spoke with Randolph Wright, an attorney and family friend, about probating Jose’s will. (During
this meeting, Erik again mentioned he thought the killings
were Mafia-related.)
Lyle told Wright that he thought Jose might have changed
his will and that the new will might be on the family computer. The other possible location of a new will was a family
safe. Lyle retrieved the safe, and it was brought to Wright’s
home, where it was kept in a spare bedroom. Erik spent two
nights in that bedroom with the safe, and when it was opened,
Lyle allowed no one but Erik to be present. After opening the
safe in private, Lyle told family and friends that he and Erik
had found nothing in the safe.
Some time later, three files on the computer, entitled
“Will,” “Erik,” and “Lyle,” were discovered. These files,
however, were mysteriously unrecoverable.
They were both over 18 and could have just left their father and made a life of their own however they did not want to leave all that money behind. Since the mom knew there was a new will that left the brother's nothing, she had to go too.
The ironic thing about this is that they apparently didn’t realize that even if there was a new will stored in the computer, it wouldn’t affect them or prevent them from inheriting. Only a signed and witnessed document would be valid.
In the article he gave a link to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denial of a new trial. There is a little tidbit in there worth reading.
The brothers knew that Jose had a will, but
questions remained at the time as to the location of the will
and whether Jose had written more than one.
Jose’s 1981 will, which left everything to Erik and Lyle,
was not immediately recovered. The brothers, however, had
reason to fear that Jose might have written a new will, one
that would leave them nothing. Erik testified that his mother
told him that Jose had disinherited Erik. The day after the
murders, Erik and Lyle spoke with Randolph Wright, an attorney and family friend, about probating Jose’s will. (During
this meeting, Erik again mentioned he thought the killings
were Mafia-related.)
Lyle told Wright that he thought Jose might have changed
his will and that the new will might be on the family computer. The other possible location of a new will was a family
safe. Lyle retrieved the safe, and it was brought to Wright’s
home, where it was kept in a spare bedroom. Erik spent two
nights in that bedroom with the safe, and when it was opened,
Lyle allowed no one but Erik to be present. After opening the
safe in private, Lyle told family and friends that he and Erik
had found nothing in the safe.
Some time later, three files on the computer, entitled
“Will,” “Erik,” and “Lyle,” were discovered. These files,
however, were mysteriously unrecoverable.
They were both over 18 and could have just left their father and made a life of their own however they did not want to leave all that money behind. Since the mom knew there was a new will that left the brother's nothing, she had to go too.
The ironic thing about this is that they apparently didn’t realize that even if there was a new will stored in the computer, it wouldn’t affect them or prevent them from inheriting. Only a signed and witnessed document would be valid.