Citing the “clear causal link” between a man’s unlawful killing of his mother-in-law and the benefits he stood to gain, a Brooklyn appellate court has ruled that wrongdoers cannot indirectly inherit a victim’s assets.

The Appellate Division, Second Department, took up the issue of first impression in the fight over Dianne Edwards’ estate and whether her son-in-law Brandon Palladino, who pleaded to manslaughter after her strangulation death, was entitled to the money from his late wife’s estate.