It's funny, I saw a parallel between this story and the Stacy Peterson story.  In both cases love did not survive murder. Or rather, love fizzled and then the couple had this murder over their heads. The summary wasn't totally accurate, it was his aunt, not his mother.  His aunt controlled his money (his father left the money in trust to the aunt). The aunt was a nasty, horrid woman who got what she deserved, but the girlfriend was a controlling hustler. She too got what she deserved.