Killer Denied Bid to Inherit $250,000 From Estate of Mother in Law He Strangled

In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a Brooklyn appeals court has determined that a killer can’t indirectly inherit his victim’s fortune.

Long Island druggie Brandon Palladino was trying to get his hands on more than $250,000 from his mother-in-law’s estate, despite spending 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

He had admitted to strangling Dianne Edwards, 59, when she caught him stealing her jewelry in 2008. Her will listed her only daughter, Palladino’s high school sweetheart and wife, as the sole beneficiary. Deanna Edwards Palladino, 24, died of overdose about a year later, leaving the killer as the beneficiary of the slain woman’s estate.

Crime was about to pay big time for the Huntington Station man, who’s set to get out when he’s 45. But Edwards’ estranged sister Donna Larsen intervened, arguing a wrongdoer cannot profit from his or her misdeed.

Finding that “there is a clear causal link between the wrongful conduct and the benefits sought,” the appellate panel agreed Wednesday, upholding a Suffolk County court’s decision to strip Palladino, 28, from the dough.

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Killer Denied Bid to Inherit $250,000 From Estate of Mother in Law He Strangled