Bizarre battle over Batman heiress' $52m fortune sparked by a boy toy... but family claim there's another villain

A bizarre combat is unfolding implicit Batman creator Bob Kane's $52 cardinal fortune. His aged widow is trapped astatine the halfway of a real-life communicative of villains and vigilantes, featuring a silver-tongued lad toy, a crusading distant comparative and a conservator nether fire.

Elizabeth Sanders Kane, 82, is truthful synonymous with the superhero franchise that she's played cameo roles successful Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin.

But her gilded Hollywood beingness took a acheronian crook successful 2015 erstwhile acrophobic relatives noticed she'd grown progressively distant. 

They learned of the disturbing crushed why. 

The childless widow became infatuated with her caller companion, a overmuch younger, seemingly handsome operation worker, Candelario Lomeli. Lomeli struck up a kinship with Sanders Kane aft she hired him to overgarment her location successful the Pacific Palisades immoderate years earlier.

Lonely aft Kane's decease successful 1998, she welcomed the company, and Lomeli yet became a fixture successful the home.

Sanders Kane’s cousins, with whom she’d erstwhile been close, believed Lomeli was trying to thrust a wedge betwixt her and her family.

Suspicious of his motives, they hired a backstage researcher to excavation into Lomeli's past and allegedly discovered a way of aged women he’d been sweet-talking crossed Los Angeles.

Fearful that helium was striking to swindle Sanders Kane retired of her comic publication multi-millions, they filed a restraining bid against Lomeli, and wrong days, helium was gone.

During their intervention, it was discovered that the widow was successful the aboriginal stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Determined to support her from immoderate winsome grifters, her household placed her nether a conservatorship.

Despite their efforts, 1 comparative believes Sanders Kane was handed implicit to adjacent much insidious manipulators: the precise radical entrusted with her care.

‘There’s a caller villain successful the Batman franchise,’ Lori Murphy, 59, a relative of Sanders Kane, told the Daily Mail of the widow’s conservator, Jeffrey Siegel.

‘His [nick]name is Jeffrey the Seagull, and helium scoops successful and flies distant with your household subordinate and each their money,' Murphy said.

Siegel has not returned the Daily Mail's petition for comment, but helium has repeatedly denied Murphy's accusations successful galore tribunal filings and hasn't been officially accused of immoderate wrongdoing. 

For astir 10 years, Murphy has been locked successful a ineligible conflict against Siegel and the different attorneys overseeing her cousin's estate.

Murphy says she present fears she'll 'only' person $1 to $2 cardinal of Sanders Kane's immense 8 fig luck upon her death.

In assorted tribunal filings, Murphy has accused Siegel of elder abuse, isolating Sanders Kane from her family, and mismanaging her luck and assets.

Twice, Murphy has filed to region Siegel arsenic Sanders Kane’s conservator, but some of her requests person been denied by a justice for lacking merit.

Sanders Kane is believed to beryllium nearing the extremity of her life. She is present bed-bound and needs 24-hour attraction from a squad of nurses, tribunal filings show.

In a January filing, Murphy sensationally accused Siegel of prolonging her cousin’s beingness for his ain fiscal gain.

‘Elizabeth deserves to walk her years with household and friends, not being kept successful a prison-like isolated environment,’ Murphy wrote successful the filing.

‘The conservator is not doing a bully job. Nobody successful our household has been capable to spot her, but we were told she is being kept live by a feeding conduit and inactive surviving successful her condo, truthful that Jeffrey Siegal [sic] and Associates tin proceed to instrumentality her wealth and support her conservatorship.'

Siegel countered by calling the allegations unfounded, unsubstantiated and lacking 'any foundation' whatsoever. 

The justice sided with Siegel, and helium was permitted to proceed arsenic conservator.

It was different of Sanders Kane’s cousins, Dr. Edward Spievack, a Florida-based orthopedic surgeon, who requested that Siegel instrumentality power of her assets and attraction successful 2015.

In tribunal documents obtained by the Daily Mail, it shows that Spievack’s petition for a conservatorship came due to the fact that of increasing interest astir Lomeli, and Sanders Kane's deteriorating health.

Spievack did not instrumentality the Daily Mail's petition for comment. 

The lad toy

Lomeli swanned into Sanders Kane’s beingness successful the aboriginal 2000s.

The handyman, past successful his mid 40s, presented himself arsenic a leader of sorts, informing Sanders Kane that 1 of his colleagues was trying to overcharge her for a mantle, and helium didn’t privation her getting ripped off, Murphy said.

Sanders Kane was moved by Lomeli’s motion and, having suffered with profound loneliness since Bob’s death, welcomed the attraction of a younger antheral - contempt warnings from loved ones to proceed with caution.

‘She would conscionable telephone him her companion,’ said Murphy. ‘I'm not definite if it was romantic… but I heard helium was surviving with different woman, but helium fundamentally dumped his different narration to beryllium her “friend.”’

Spievack grew acrophobic for his cousin’s well-being successful 2014 aft helium observed a crisp diminution successful her cognitive health, noticing she seemed highly confused. She was besides becoming progressively harder to scope by phone.

In tribunal filings, Spievack accused Lomeli of monitoring his cousin’s communications and screening their calls to isolate her from her household truthful helium could instrumentality vantage of her susceptible information unchecked.

Murphy said Spievack had antecedently confronted Sanders Kane implicit the quality of her narration with Lomeli, informing her she was being taken vantage of, which caused a rift betwixt the pair.

Murphy said the household besides heard a rumor that Sanders Kane had paid disconnected Lomeli’s owe - the Mail was incapable to verify this claim.

Spievack hired a backstage investigator, who allegedly discovered done records that Lomeli had a web of aged admirers and unearthed rumors of shady dealings.

He called Lomeli successful December 2014, and the handyman told him Sanders Kane's information had worsened and she 'needed help,' tribunal records show. 

During the call, per tribunal records, Lomeli told him he’d been penning checks for her, that helium knew each of her banking accusation and that she didn’t person a will.

It was a telephone from Adult Protective Services that prompted the family’s panic to scope its peak.

A societal idiosyncratic who cared for Sanders Kane contacted Spievack to study that ‘something was wrong’ astatine the home, claiming Lomeli has been acting suspiciously, tribunal papers show.

Both the societal idiosyncratic and Spievack contacted the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department to study Lomeli for elder abuse. The Daily Mail has requested a transcript of that report, but has not yet received it.

Spievack besides contacted Wells Fargo, the slope his relative had been keeping her luck astatine for much than 30 years.

He claimed the slope said they'd recently spoken with Sanders Kane astir putting immoderate safeguards successful spot to support her money, but, soon after, ‘all of her assets were withdrawn and transferred’ to a antithetic bank, US Bank.

He past flew to California to sojourn his cousin. When helium arrived astatine her home, helium was disturbed to find galore pieces of her precocious husband's archetypal Batman artwork, which had erstwhile lined the walls of the home, taken down and stacked up connected the level arsenic if they were astir to beryllium moved oregon sold.

According to tribunal filings, Lomeli became progressively evasive erstwhile questioned astir the sprawled artifacts and aboriginal canceled a scheduled meal - past infinitesimal - connected her behalf, telling Spievack that she was gathering ‘with her attorney.'

In his conservatorship filing, Spievack wrote of Lomeli: ‘I americium acrophobic that helium is transferring her assets and whitethorn beryllium disposing of the artwork.'

The conservatorship was approved wrong a month, and Sanders Kane was placed nether Siegel's attraction per Spievack's request.

The household filed a restraining bid against Lomeli, and helium rapidly vanished from her life.

Lomeli has not returned the Daily Mail's petition for comment.

But Lori Murphy claims her cousin’s brushwood with Lomeli was lone the opening of the alleged nightmare that has consumed what volition apt beryllium the last 10 years of her life.

It didn't halt with Lomeli 

Murphy lives successful North Hollywood with her longterm partner, Marc Friedlander, 66. They tally a dog-boarding work retired of their home.

She steamrolled into the Sanders Kane saga successful 2018, erstwhile she filed a petition for visitation with the Superior Court of California, claiming Siegel had ‘refused’ her immoderate visitation with her relative for 3 years.

Murphy told the Daily Mail she shared an incredibly adjacent enslaved with Sanders Kane, who took her nether her helping successful the aboriginal 1990s erstwhile she moved to LA to flight the dysfunction of her contiguous family.

Bob had a girl from a erstwhile marriage, but helium and Sanders Kane couldn’t person children of their own. Murphy said she became the couple’s surrogate daughter, attending swanky events, ritzy dinners and mingling with the stars by their side.

‘They ever paid,’ said Murphy, who often brought Friedlander along. ‘They ne'er wanted to spell to immoderate Olive Garden. They treated america to the nines and ne'er expected america to prime up the bill… we couldn’t person afforded it otherwise.’

Murphy claims Bob erstwhile took her to the broadside and told her that, though helium wanted to instrumentality attraction of her financially, helium didn’t privation to bash her a ‘disservice’ by making her affluent excessively young.

Murphy claims Bob said that erstwhile helium died, helium would guarantee she was ‘taken attraction of’ successful his volition - helium saw her arsenic a 2nd daughter.

‘I ever expected that I was going to beryllium successful the volition based connected that, and I counted connected that,’ she said.

Murphy did not person immoderate inheritance aft Bob’s death, but says she is acceptable to inherit implicit $1 cardinal from Sanders Kane, which is little than she’d anticipated.

‘Bob told maine helium was going to permission maine capable wealth that I would ne'er person to interest astir wealth again.’

When Bob died, Murphy claims she and Friedlander became Sanders Kane’s closest companions. She was the lone comparative who lived successful LA, but their visits became little predominant erstwhile her relative met Lomeli.

The past clip she saw Sanders Kane earlier the conservatorship was astatine her day meal successful 2012 - Murphy said she appeared blessed and healthy.

A fewer years later, aft the conservatorship began, Murphy claims Sanders Kane asked her to go her full-time carer, but Siegel allegedly denied the request.

In speech with the Daily Mail, Murphy accused Siegel of being ‘threatened’ by her adjacent narration with their aging cousin, believing her beingness would disrupt his quality to entree and negociate her wealth nevertheless helium saw fit.  

Under the conservatorship, scheduled visits to spot Sanders Kane had to beryllium approved by Siegel and her physician.

In a 2018 filing, Murphy described erstwhile visits wherever Siegel’s squad cultivated an uncomfortable situation and often chopped their meetings abbreviated oregon canceled past minute.

‘He is isolating her from her lone section household member, idiosyncratic who brings her joyousness and comfort,’ wrote Murphy.

In a filing objecting to Murphy’s visitation petition successful 2019, Siegel claimed it wasn’t successful ‘the champion interests’ of Sanders Kane to spot Murphy.

Siegel besides accused Murphy of acting erratically successful her presence, and of harassing her - helium filed galore bogus constabulary reports claiming she was being abused and malnourished, which were proven to beryllium false.

One of Sanders Kane's nurses told constabulary that Murphy was 'crazy' and appeared not to beryllium 'in her close mind.' 

Siegel besides claimed that Murphy smelled atrocious during a 2019 sojourn with Sanders Kane astatine an IHOP, during which she reportedly gripped her beloved cousin's manus excessively tightly and made her 'uncomfortable.'

Murphy blamed the reported stench connected her 5-pound Yorkie, who accompanied her connected the luncheon and had precocious undergone life-saving country for a bacterial infection.

Siegel asked the justice to forbid immoderate aboriginal visitations astatine Sanders Kane's LA condo connected the grounds that, during anterior meetings, she'd refused to permission and claimed she was 'homeless.' He said the constabulary had to beryllium called.

Murphy admitted to being 'displaced' astatine the time, but insisted to the Daily Mail that she is not homeless. 

‘They each formed a squad against maine due to the fact that they're each connected the payroll and they're each getting a portion of the pie, and it's to their vantage to discredit maine and marque maine look brainsick truthful that they tin support the powerfulness and the money,' she claimed successful her interrogation with the Mail.

Murphy hasn’t seen her ailing comparative for astir six years.

She erstwhile again filed for unrestricted visitation with Sanders Kane successful March.

In handwritten grounds shared successful the filing, Murphy claimed Siegel and his squad rejected oregon cancelled dozens of visitations.

Murphy’s attempts to oust Siegel arsenic conservator person been unsuccessful, arsenic person her attempts to summation unrestricted visitation.

With her cousin’s beingness seemingly nearing an end, Murphy is hopeless to spot her and says 'it's draining and painful' not to beryllium capable to walk clip with Sanders Kane arsenic her beingness ebbs away.

'I told my household I wasn’t going to spell aft the money. I conscionable wanted to beryllium with her.’ Murphy added. 

In March, Siegel petitioned the courts to let him to make a fiscal spot for Sanders Kane’s estate, to put her fiscal affairs and streamline inheritance proceedings successful the lawsuit of her death.

A proceeding has been acceptable for June 12.

Murphy believes she is among 18 to 23 household members who basal to inherit Sanders Kane’s estate, but she is disquieted astir Siegel’s latest petition.

‘I deliberation what he's doing present is he's trying to spell backmost to tribunal to summation power of each her wealth and her paintings truthful that helium tin past crook astir and propulsion the plug connected her, and past helium tin screw the household 1 last large f*** you,’ she alleged to the Daily Mail.

Aside from Murphy's accusations, Siegel has not been accused of immoderate wrongdoing during his clip serving arsenic conservator.  

Sanders Kane’s property was valued astatine $52 cardinal arsenic of January 2025.

For now, Murphy says, she clings to beingness with the assistance of a feeding conduit astatine her LA condo, with nary friends oregon contiguous household astatine her side.