<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A US woman wrote one of the most bizarre wills shortly before she died on </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" rel="" target="" title="December 20, 1997"><span>December 20, 1997</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Audrey Jean Knauer, 56, was told she was terminally ill a few weeks before.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She took the emergency numbers page from her phone book and wrote her last will and testament.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-december-9-what-happened-on-this-day-lipstick-killer/1e8cec00-26fe-4e12-906e-1c57d80a93ff" target="" title="Chilling message scrawled on wall in lipstick at murder scene"><strong><span>Chilling message scrawled on wall in lipstick at murder scene</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Under no circumstances is my mother, Helen, to inherit anything from me – blood, body parts, financial assets, etc," she wrote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I bequeath to Charles Bronson (the talented character actor) and what he doesn't want can pass thru to the Louisville Free Public Library."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Bronson, the star of the Death Wish movies, was Knauer's favourite actor.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-december-20-what-happened-on-this-day-charles-bronson-will/46d490bb-a0d2-4b56-af4e-cb9735aa00ad" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But despite her generosity, she had never met the Hollywood star.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The estate was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Soon after Knauer's death, her sister Nancy Koeper filed a suit to challenge the will.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her lawsuit stated the will had "evidenced an inappropriate and unnatural obsession with Bronson".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I don't feel he deserves the money, and I doubt he needs it," Koeper said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-december-7-what-happened-on-this-day/aea2bc59-d382-4221-8873-b35f3dd7ee1d" target="" title="Thieves bury stolen Ferrari, and then forget where they put it"><strong><span>Thieves bury stolen Ferrari, and then forget where they put it</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her lawsuit failed, and Bronson was sent the money.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the movie star didn't need the money, and donated it to charity.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was best known for playing tough guy roles in films like </span><em><span>The Magnificent Seven</span></em><span>, </span><em><span>The Dirty Dozen</span></em><span> and </span><em><span>The Great Escape</span></em><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He died in 2003, aged 81.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-november-29-what-happened-on-this-day-grady-stiles/726d043e-10d0-4983-a4e5-ef379ed75f81" target="" title="Circus performer 'Lobster Boy' killed by teenage hitman"><strong><span>Circus performer 'Lobster Boy' killed by teenage hitman</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" target="" title="For more from our Today in History archive, click here."><strong><span>For more from our Today in History archive, click here</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple App Store</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>.</span></em></strong></div></div>