Damn it! Rich man died mysteriously "mistress"The housekeeper occupies a $13.2 million mansion, but the police come to her house to no avail!

This article is reproduced from the public account: West Canada Weekly (public account ID: westcanadaweekly)

A Manhattan mansion worth US$13.2 million has now become the battlefield of “palace fighting”.

The homeowner had just died, and his body was still cold. His 66-year-old housekeeper actually stayed in the mansion and refused to leave. She not only refused to move out, but also blocked all the estate representatives from the door.

Craig Schmeizer, 52, a well-known mattress entrepreneur in New York, was found dead in this Upper East Side townhouse on November 20, 2025.

The medical examiner’s report showed that the cause of death was subdural hemorrhage caused by blunt force trauma to the head, and the manner of death was marked as “undetermined.” Police said there were no criminal elements and the case was closed.

However, death itself may be just the beginning of the storm.

His estranged wife, Sarah Shalev, is the legal representative of the estate trust. According to her will, the five-bedroom limestone villa on E. 81st Street in the Upper East Side is held by two family trusts in her name, and the property must be inventoried and sold as soon as possible.

The problem is – she can’t get in.

Hilarie Page, the housekeeper, was the live-in housekeeper employed by Schmeizer during his lifetime. It is reported that the two had a close relationship, and the outside world called them his “girlfriend” or even his “mistress.” However, in legal documents, she only has one identity: a licensed resident.

Hillary

If the owner dies, the license automatically terminates.

Sarah had called Hillary shortly after her husband’s death to negotiate a handover. She didn’t expect the reaction on the other end of the phone to shock her——

“She was extremely hostile and told me she would not leave the house because Craig was dead,” Sarah wrote in court documents.

I sent several letters from lawyers in succession, but all of them fell into disarray.

Schmeizer

In early February this year, Sarah personally arrived at the scene with her legal representatives. They rang the doorbell, banged on the door, and even threw snowballs at the window to try to attract attention. When there was no response, they called a locksmith to pry open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Hillary rushed out, screaming.

Both parties immediately called the police. After the police arrived, they asked Sara’s party to leave the scene. In this way, the estate representative failed at the door of his own property.

Schmeizer andSarah

Just how much property is in this mansion? There is a rare and famous wine cellar inside, as well as a large amount of art and jewelry to be inventoried. The property does not generate any rental income, and daily maintenance is entirely paid for out of pocket.

The estate has filed an emergency lawsuit in Manhattan court, requesting forced access and requiring Hillary to pay monthly occupancy fees of approximately $49,000, starting from the date of Schmeizer’s death until she leaves.

What’s even more troublesome is that the mortgagee has issued a warning: the original insurance has expired, and a home inspection must be completed within 14 days and re-insured. One insurance company directly refused to cover it; another quoted a new premium of up to $135,000. If the home inspection cannot be completed, the entire mansion will be uninsured.

The most disturbing thing about this storm is death itself.

Public records show that just weeks before Schmeizer’s death, Hillary Clinton was arrested by police for an alleged assault at the mansion, and the related charges were dropped after his death. The family strongly requested the police to re-examine the case and questioned where the blunt force trauma to the 52-year-old man’s head came from.

At present, the police’s position has not changed and they still believe that there are no criminal factors.

A $13.2 million Manhattan top mansion, a housekeeper who refused to leave, a forensic report that the cause of death was “undetermined”, and an inheritance tug-of-war with no end in sight.

This storm is far from over.

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