$19 Million Clark Heir Dies

Timothy Gray, who stood to inherit a potential $19 million from reclusive Huguette Clark’s $300 million fortune, was found dead in the snow Thursday, apparently homeless, under a railroad underpass in Wyoming.

It’s not known whether Gray, 60, was aware that his estranged family and New York court officials were searching to notify him that he could become rich if the family wins a court battle over Huguette’s fortune. She died in 2011.

Gray disappeared after his mother’s funeral in 1990, according to Bill Dedman, NBC investigative reporter. If Gray, who apparently had no spouse or children, left no will, his share would be divided among his brother Jerry and his sisters, who are among claimants to the Clark estate along with their own shares, Dedman said. The estate includes Huguette’s hilltop property on East Cabrillo Boulevard.

“When lawyers tried to find him to let him know about the Clark estate battle, they found his belongings had been abandoned in a storage locker,” according to court records, Dedman said. Gray apparently died of hypothermia. In one of Huguette’s wills, she left nothing to her family, some of whom she had not seen in years, but sought to establish an art museum on her Santa Barbara property.

Dedman’s story can be read here.

The court battle is expected to extend long into 2013 before there is a decision or settlement.