Woman dies homeless with no idea she has $800k of inheritance in the bank

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An Oregon woman died homeless, unaware she was entitled to over $800,000 in inheritance.

Catherine Boone died in January 2020 aged 49 with no idea that she had been left $884,407.

As detailed by her father, she had faced mental health and drug problems throughout her life and could not be contacted about the money despite numerous attempts to reach her.

“It just didn’t make sense to me that money was just sitting there.” Jack Spithill, her father told KGW News. “She had a rough life but when she was good, she was really good,” he continued.

“I attribute it almost all to drugs, but I think she also had some mental health issues and the combination of the two didn’t work out for her very well.

“I think my failure to recognize her mental health issues. I kind of gave up on her because of the drugs and shouldn’t have done that,”

It is believed that the money was left to her by her mother, who died in 2016. Her mother’s death is believed to have been a trigger for her emotional issues, a contributing factor to her relapse.

Court documents show that multiple attempts were made to contact Ms Boone regarding the money. This included advertisements in newspapers, reaching out on Facebook and through phone and email to both Ms Boone and her friends and family. A private investigator was brought on to help, but was also unsuccessful.

She was known to stay at the local homeless shelter, the Astoria Warming Center, where she garnered a reputation for sleeping in pyjamas, something that not all residents did.

“She was a special person as far as I’m concerned,” said Donny Holder, who said they loved to smoke and drink coffee together. Among some of his most prized possessions is a photograph of Boone that he keeps in his jacket. “She was a sweetheart. I fell in love with her.”

Other friends spoke of her memory, such as Johnathan Kvale, who was once homeless alongside Boone.

“We’re not just statistics. These are good folks. It’s just circumstances,” he said.

She died after being rushed to a local hospital after suffering breathing problems on 13 January 2020.

According to documents recently seen by KGW, the inheritance money has since been claimed by two family members, including two of Ms Boone’s children.