Money Feud Lands Brother In Jail, Sister In Hospital
SPOKANE – A friend of a Spokane woman say a family argument over money and property turned violent sending the woman to the hospital and her brother behind bars.
Karen Brown, 51, is recovering at Deaconess Hospital and one of her friends says a longstanding dispute over her late father’s inheritance is what pushed her brother Patrick Rupp over the edge.
Kerrie Inman says seeing her neighbor for the first time Thursday after her attack was shocking.
“She said that he tried to rip her ear off, her ear was like all bloody, she had blood crusted up on top of her head, she had a neck brace,” Inman said.
Inman added that Brown didn’t see the assault coming but in the past had said she feared for her safety.
“I’ve never seen them argue before but I have heard Karen state that she fear for her life a few times,” Inman said.
Brown and Rupp’s father passed away in March and Brown was named executor of her father’s estate. The family has been bitterly divided over the division of the father’s assets and late Wednesday afternoon Patrick Rupp turned violent, beating his sister with a 2×4 and an air conditioner.
Rupp made his first appearance in court Thursday and has been charged with 1st Degree Assault. His bond has been set at $250,000.
“If there’s no charges in 72 hours, then this is all garbage,” Rupp said.
“You can’t call her, write her, have anything to do with her,” Judge Annette Plese told Rupp Thursday.
The no contact order handed down to Rupp also means he can’t go home since he lives less than two blocks from his sister.
From her hospital bed at Deaconess Thursday afternoon Karen Brown said she intended to press charges against her brother for the attack.
“He definitely tried to kill me that was his motivation, to destroy me,” she said.
Brown is recovering from a broken jaw, split forehead and extensive bruising. She was scheduled to undergo surgery Thursday evening to pin her jaw back together.
