Court records show the case was subject to general dismissal with prejudice, meaning the case was dismissed and Terri was blocked from filing another suit on the same claim.
Just months after the case concluded, in August 2015, Patricia sold her three-bedroom home in Eugene, where she’d lived her whole life, and moved into a one-bedroom holiday home an hour away.
The court battle came a year after the death of Terri and Patricia’s mother, Judy Raines, in
March 2014. According to property records, Judy’s Eugene, Oregon, house was sold for $240,000 in February 2014 – a month before she passed away.
In 2016, Patricia told New Idea her falling out with Terri had occurred just days before their mother’s death. At the time, she refused to go into the reasons, and although Terri has never spoken of the alleged rift, Patricia claimed: “My sister has a lot of money and knows a lot of people – she could squash me like a bug.”
While Terri does not appear to have done anything to support this claim, Patricia added: “I’m not at liberty to speak freely – it would be life-changing”.
Despite Terri having what appears to be a troubled relationship with Patricia, the Australia Zoo matriarch remains close to her older sister, Bonnie. The retired restaurateur immediately jetted to Australia from the US to support her sister after Steve’s tragic 2006 death and is still frequently mentioned in Terri’s social media posts.
This year it was revealed that Steve’s dad, Bob Irwin, had not been involved with Terri or his grandchildren for some time
and wasn’t expecting an invitation to Bindi’s wedding.
In September, Steve’s sister, Joy Muscillo confirmed she was also estranged from her famous family, despite working at Australia Zoo, alongside husband Frank, for years. In 2016 Joy, Frank, and their adult children were forced from their positions and signed confidentiality agreements, blocking them from discussing what happened. Although that agreement has now expired, Joy explained that she chose not to talk about the family.
Bindi has talked about her strained relationship with her grandfather in the past: “When my dad passed away he chose to distance himself from everything that Dad loved the most”. But despite the claims of troubles with extended family, the Irwins appear to maintain a united front, with Terri determined to continue Steve’s legacy.
For more, see this week's New Idea - out now!
