Girlfriend Holed Up in Thomas Kinkade House

She claims painter willed it to her; widow says she's squatting
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 14, 2012 10:45 AM CDT
Girlfriend Holed Up in Thomas Kinkade House
Amy Pinto-Walsh, girlfriend of artist Thomas Kinkade, leaves a courthouse in San Jose, Calif., July 2, 2012.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Thomas Kinkade's girlfriend is still living in his $7 million Monte Sereno mansion, blissfully ignoring demands from Kinkade's estranged wife for $12,500 a month in rent, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Amy Pinto says she and Kinkade were engaged when he died, and she has two documents she claims are handwritten wills leaving her the house. Nonsense, complains a lawyer for Nanette Kinkade, who says Pinto is "holding hostage this residence."

Nanette Kinkade is challenging the will, and she's posted a 24-hour guard around the mansion to ensure Pinto doesn't steal anything. The judge has given Pinto until her Sept. 17 court date to "consider her options" on whether to stay or leave—and ordered her to "make sure everything stays where it is until the outcome of these proceedings." (More Thomas Kinkade stories.)

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