Allen Blackthorne's Millions Go to Sheila Bellush's Children
Maggie
Assets To Go To Victim's Family
September 21, 2001, 1:03 PM EDT
HOUSTON -- The assets of a millionaire who arranged the murder of his ex-wife
while she was home with her toddler quadruplets will be given to her children
and other relatives, a judge ruled.
The order was came Thursday as part of an out-of-court settlement of a
wrongful-death claim by relatives of Sheila Bellush, 35.
Bellush was slashed and shot to death in 1997 in Sarasota, Fla., in front of
her quadruplets, who were then 23 months old. Allen Blackthorne, 46, is serving
two life terms in prison for paying for the murder.
"Our first mission was to do everything we could to get Allen Blackthorne
convicted. The secondary mission was, if we were ever able to trap any
proceeds, to get every dollar we could over to the children and (widower) Jamie
Bellush," said J. Ken Nunley, the family's lawyer.
Earlier this year, Blackthorne's stock in the privately held company RM
Medical, an equipment maker, was estimated to be worth around $4.5 million.
The liquidation, which could be completed Friday, was authorized by state
District Judge Pat Boone, who lifted his March injunction barring Blackthorne
and his second wife from disposing of the stock.
Blackthorne and his wife divorced in 1989 and battled bitterly over custody of
their two daughters. She later married Jamie Bellush and had quadruplets with
him. The family moved from Texas to Florida in 1997, and six weeks later, she
was killed.
The money will be shared by the six children and other relatives.
Besides the prison terms, Blackthorne was fined $250,000 and ordered to pay
$17,000 in restitution. Three other men were convicted of federal conspiracy
charges and are serving life terms in federal prisons.
Maggie
"Rules? In a knife fight? There ain't no rules in a knife fight!" - William
Goldman in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
Yvonne Adler
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