Documents

Christopher Crawford's Objection To Probate The Will of Joan Crawford Steele

Signed October 24th, 1977

     On October 24th, 1977, Christopher Crawford and his sister, Christina Crawford Koontz, filed Objections to probate the will of Joan Crawford.

In Christopher's legal objection, exhibited below, he makes numerous false statements regarding Joan Crawford. Christopher and Christina's legal Objections are nearly identical.

     Below is a breakdown of Christopher's contradicting statements given in this sworn legal Objection:

Re: Item #5: “That deceased was a Christian Scientist and took no medication to alleviate the intense pain of said cancerous condition.”

     FALSE. Joan's Christian Science practitioner, Marque Campbell, and caregiver, Darinka Papich, confirmed that Joan DID take pain medications to manage the pain associated with her illness. The Christian Science faith does not condemn pain management medication. This information was told to Christina Crawford by both persons cited above after Joan's death, and prior to Christopher (and Christina) swearing to the information in their legal Objections.

Re: Item #11: “That for two or more years prior to her death, deceased had not left her apartment in New York City.”

     FALSE. While there is no evidence that Joan left her apartment during the final year of her life due to her illness, it was not "two years or more" as claimed by Christopher Crawford in er legal objection. In fact, Joan's friend, Michael Sean O'Shea, confirmed that Joan visited the Finger Lakes of New York in the fall of 1975, and O'Shea cited that trip as her final long distance outing. This information was told to Christina prior to she and Christopher swearing to the information in their legal Objections. This information alone removes the exaggerated claim by Christopher and Christina that it had been "two years or more" since Joan had left her apartment.

Re: Item #14: “That the writing herein, purporting to be the last Will and Testament of deceased, was the direct result of a mind and will distorted by intense pain and/or clouded by alcohol."

     FALSE. Following Joan's death, and the reveal of Christopher's and Christina's disinheritance from her will, Christina made many attempt to find people to corroborate her claim that Joan was an "alcoholic" and under the influence of alcohol during her final years. Ultimately, Christina found no such person to corroborate this claim. This information is confirmed by Joan's interior designer and friend, Carleton Varney, who knew Joan well during her final years. Varney last spoke to Joan on May 4th, 1977, six days before Joan's death. Varney and Joan's caregiver, and the person with Joan when she died, Darinka Papich, were contacted by Christina asking them to be witnesses to her claim that Joan was an alcoholic during her final years of life. Both Varney and Papich (among others) denied this claim. Papich cited that Joan had stopped drinking in January 1975.

This information by Papich was corroborated by others close to Joan during her final years. Despite her lack of any such witness to this claim, and her knowledge of Joan having stopped drinking more than a year and a half prior to executing her will, Christopher and Christina swore to this false statement as being true in their respective legal Objections.

Re: Item # 20: “That the writing herein purporting to be the Last Will and Testament is not the expression of the decedent’s free and unfettered volition but that of a weakened mind overborne by the importunities and blandishments of the said Jerome LaLonde and wife.”

     FALSE. Following Christopher's and Christina legal Objections to probate Joan's will, it was revealed that Joan's prior will, dating back to at least 1964, excluded Christopher and Christina as beneficiaries. After this information was revealed, along with the lack of witnesses that Joan was an alcoholic in October 1976, Christopher and Christina altered their reasons for objecting to probate to include a claim of monomania.