The daughters of slain celebrity Realtor and punk-rock pioneer Linda Stein are considering suing her employer, high-end brokerage Prudential Douglas Elliman, as well as the temp agency that employed the woman accused of killing her, and the alleged killer herself.
After a lengthy search, Samantha Wells and Mandy Stein were unable to find any will left by their mother.
And on Dec. 18, they filed a petition in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court asking for control of Stein’s estate. It was accepted the same day.
In the filing were letters in which the two women characterized their mother’s assets and indicated they were considering suing multiple parties for their responsibility in bringing their mother in contact with Natavia Lowery, an assistant who worked for Stein and has been charged with her murder.
The papers say Stein’s estate is valued at $2.2 million and has been turned over to the two women. The estate consists of Stein’s $1.2 million apartment at 965 Fifth Ave., and $1 million in cash and investments.
The two women are looking to put their mother’s apartment on the market as soon as evidence of the crime can be cleaned up, court papers show.
“It must be cleaned up to remove bloodstains and make necessary repairs,” according to the petition. The papers say the daughters are reserving the right to sue Elliman and temp agency Axion of New York for negligence. They have not yet filed any suit against either company.
Stein was found on the living-room floor of the two-bedroom Fifth Avenue co-op near East 76th Street on Oct. 30.
Stein, 62, the former manager of the Ramones, gained a reputation as a real-estate agent to the stars, with such A-list clients as Madonna, Calvin Klein, Angelina Jolie and Elton John. She died from skull fractures after she was bludgeoned with a blunt object. She was discovered by Mandy.
The 26-year-old Lowery, who is pregnant, made a videotaped confession in which she claimed Stein was verbally abusive to her and blew marijuana smoke in her face, according to earlier reports. She later claimed the confession was coerced.
Stein’s estate could not be settled until this month because homicide investigators sealed her apartment and her daughters were unable to search for her will.
It was eventually determined she had no will. State law dictates that the next of kin inherits the estate in such cases.
“We have no comment on any of this, and we’d appreciate it if you would respect our privacy during this difficult time,” said Samantha’s husband, Roger Wells.