Wild claims in court as step-kid and sister fight over legend's money…

The Gold Coast photographer Marty Tullemans, who was as much a part of surf history as the iconic photographs he took but who suffered from bi-polar disorder and, later, dementia, died of kidney failure a little over one year ago. 

And ol Marty, who was pretty canny with his money, left a total of 625k, which included $379,000 in cash. 

A will from 2013 shared his estate equally between his ex-partner’s four kids, including his step-daughter Tamar Tane, and nothing to his sister, Maria Shaw. 

Now, his sister claims she found an envelope, marked “Powderkeg”, after he went into a nursing home that contained an updated version of his will, this time leaving most of his fortune to her. 

The step-daughter, Tamar Tane, is challenging Maria’s application and has filed a counterclaim.

Tane’s lawyer alleges there are “suspicious circumstances” surrounding the signing of the will.

In a court doc, Maria says she and her husband found a safe containing the updated will, dated October 18, 2019, in Marty’s Kirra Beach Caravan Park cabin. 

Maria said the will had been witnessed by her dad Petrus Tullemans and Marty’s pal and neighbour of thirty years, Deborah Phillips. 

Shaw’s son, David, said his Uncle Marty asked him to fill in a will form and then dictated his wishes and then watched as Marty signed the form in front of his grandfather Petrus and neighbour Deborah. 

Marty, says David, told him to keep the will confidential, telling his nephew, “I have put the will in an envelope which has ‘Powderkeg’ written on it and put it in my safe”.

The “Powderkeg” will left fifty k to Tamar Tane to divide with her siblings however she wanted, fifty k to Marty’s bro Frank and the rest to Maria. 

And here comes a new twist. 

Deborah Phillips, whose signature is allegedly on “Powderkeg”, has signed a stat dec saying she didn’t see or witness Marty or his Dad signing it. 

In November 2020, Deborah says Maria invited her for dinner and said, “I need you to sign a document for Martin” which she says she refused. 

Maria denies asking Deborah to sign the will. 

The judge, meanwhile, has ordered Maria to reveal text messages between her and  Deborah and to surrender all of Marty’s phones and computers. 

More as this dirty little episode unfurls. 

"I mean, what's a guy to do?"

11x surfing champion Kelly Slater is, by far, the most famous of our kind, except for maybe Laird Hamilton or Jonah Hill, and both knows and communicates with other such celebrities. He also just so happens to have dated many of the same women as award-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio including, but not limited to, the Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen and Israeli model Bar Rafeli.

Very cool and Slater, being very cool, does not exhibit any sort of dog-like jealousy toward his stablemate but, rather, commiserates and encourages.

In an alleged recent interview, DiCaprio’s alleged ex-girlfriend Camila Morrone shared details of the “worst date of her life,” saying, “He rented out a whole cinema and made me watch every single Star Wars movie while he ran around with his lightsaber pretending to fight bad guys.”

Slater, quick on the trigger, wondered, “I mean, what’s a guy to do?”

As it turns out, the quote has been disproven and Morrone and DiCaprio are still together but I’m certain the star is happy to know that the world’s greatest surfer is in his corner.

What a guy.

CHP investigators said the woman either “fell or jumped.”

Ever try to kill a flea? Ain’t easy. Whack it with a phone book, flame it with a cigarette lighter, flick it with your finger, firehose it with DDT.

Don’t work.

That is also true for Darryl “Flea” Virostko, a big wave surfer from Santa Cruz who was determined to drown himself anywhere in the Pacific Ocean during the Roaring 90s.

Flea was part of the Santa Cruz “Vermin” crew – Skindog, Barney, Ratboy, Condor – who were Pied Pipered to Mavericks by Vince Collier, and who wanted to pay homage to surfers like Jeff Clark and Richard Schmidt who pioneered the place by charging hard at one of the most dangerous waves in the world.

The zeitgeist to Flea and his westside brethren was simple: “Go now, ask questions later.”

And that is what Flea did, from Mavericks to Waimea, launching himself into some of the biggest waves ridden at the time, but also some of the most horrendous wipeouts.

Virostko survived substance problems, enjoying meth and acid at some length although he was hardly Robinson Crusoe around Santa Cruz in that regard, and some pretty wild beatings in the Pacific Ocean to emerge butterfly like and become a daddy etc.

Now, according to Santa Cruz news outlets, on January 10 a lady rear-ended Flea on Highway One, and then she rocked over to the cliff, jumped in the ocean and drowned.

What?

According to Amy Larson on www.kron4.com:

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KRON) — A bizarre and tragic crash involving a former professional big wave surfer unfolded on Highway 1 north of Santa Cruz Monday.

A 40-year-old woman was driving a Honda Accord when she collided into a Toyota Tundra driven by surfer Darryl “Flea” Virostko, according to investigators.

The two-vehicle collision happened at 9 a.m. in the northbound lanes of Highway 1 near upper Swanton Road.

“After the collision, both vehicles pulled to the shoulder. The woman driving the Honda reportedly exited the vehicle, crossed the highway, and walked towards the cliff overlooking the ocean,” the California Highway Patrol wrote.

Witnesses saw the woman plummet down a 300-foot cliff. CHP investigators said the woman either “fell or jumped.”
The U.S. Coast Guard deployed a helicopter and water rescue team. The woman died before rescuers could lift her out of the water.

Virostko told KRON4 Monday evening that he is OK.

The CHP is investigating the collision. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is investigating what happened immediately after the crash.

CHP officers said they classified the crash as a “hit-and-run” because the woman technically left the scene on foot before she went over the cliff.

A mystery wrapped in neoprene: Why did the woman rear-end Flea? How fast was she going? Why did the woman jump into the ocean?

Even more mysterious: Where along Highway One can someone pull a Kim Novak into the ocean?

The woman’s name was not released. The CHP said she lived in Santa Cruz.

Okay so it was near Upper Swanton Road. so that means the accident happened around Greyhound Rock, which means the woman walked a couple hundred feet across a field to the edge of the cliff… and jumped.

Real odd.