Son faces charges he ripped off mom

A Spokane man and his longtime girlfriend will be arraigned Wednesday on charges of stealing money from his 80-year-old mother and tricking her into giving him her house.

Michael James Halligan, 43, and his girlfriend of 12 years, 51-year-old Daphne L. Wood, each are charged in Spokane County Superior Court with two counts of first-degree theft and 12 counts of forgery.

If a jury agrees with Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Johnson that the alleged crimes were aggravated by knowledge that Halligan’s mother was particularly vulnerable, the defendants could get above-standard sentences.

According to charging documents, Betty Halligan allowed her son and Wood – also known as Daphne Halligan – to move into the basement of her home in the 600 block of East Rockwell Avenue in late 2004. Police say Betty Halligan told them her son and Wood persistently harassed her to transfer ownership of the home to her son.

She refused, but Michael Halligan eventually persuaded his mother to sign documents he said would allow him to take possession of the house only after she died, according to a police affidavit.

However, police said, the document actually was a quit-claim deed written in such fine print that Betty Halligan couldn’t read it. Her vision is impaired by macular degeneration.

Wood and Michael Halligan also allegedly forged $9,071 worth of checks on Betty Halligan’s bank accounts between Oct. 2, 2005, and May 24, 2006.

Police said Wood told them she forged the checks, payable to Michael Halligan, to “get back at” Betty Halligan. Wood reportedly complained that Betty Halligan disliked and disparaged her.

One of the allegedly forged checks was used to pay taxes on the allegedly stolen home.

Wood reportedly told detectives she was responsible for the thefts, and that she and Michael Halligan felt badly about what they had done.

According to court documents, Betty Halligan told police she found out about the forgeries when her bank contacted her, but someone removed some of the bank’s correspondence from her room. Also, police said, Halligan said her son refused to give back the deed to her home.

Betty Halligan said her son and Wood were verbally abusive, and refused to let her talk on the telephone or go to church and other social gatherings, according to police.

Court documents say Betty Halligan told police her son and Wood called her vulgar names.

Lisa Erdahl, who works for Elder Services, reportedly told police that Michael Halligan tried to get the agency to move Betty Halligan into an assisted-living center. Erdahl and Donna Cecchini of Adult Protective Services investigated and got a temporary court order to protect Betty Halligan as a “vulnerable adult.”

Charging documents say Michael Halligan admitted in a July 17 court hearing on the protection order that he participated in the alleged forgeries.