December 27, 2017 08:42 PM
The bad news is that the Warhols got the worst of it.
The good news is that the Monet made it out unharmed.
Lindy Lou Layman, 29, has been charged with criminal mischief in Houston, Texas, after prosecutors say her first date with Anthony Buzbee, a prominent Texas attorney and collector of art, took a turn for the destructive on Dec. 23, KTRK reports.
Layman destroyed three original paintings and two abstract sculptures at Buzbee’s 12,000-square-foot mansion that evening, according to a criminal complaint, leaving at least $300,000 in damage. She tore the paintings off the wall, poured liquid on them and threw sculptures across the room, the complaint said.
Two of the paintings were by Andy Warhol, KHOU reports.
“She also pulled a Renoir and a Monet off the wall,” Buzbee told Texas Lawyer. “Luckily those weren’t damaged.”
During their date, when the pair returned to Buzbee’s palatial home, Layman seemed too intoxicated, Buzbee told police. But when Buzzbee called his date an Uber to take her home, she wouldn’t leave his house, KHOU reports.
Then Buzzbee called Layman a second Uber, prosecutors said in court on Dec. 27. That didn’t work either: Layman acted aggressively toward the driver, prosecutors said, and then went back into the attorney’s home, yelling: “I’m not leaving,” according to KTRK.
At that point, the destruction of Buzbee’s collection of famous art began, as prosecutors said Layman poured red wine on the pieces, tore paintings off the walls and tossed art across the room.
“It’s not the first time I’ve had guests at a party of mine over imbibe,” Buzbee told Texas Lawyer. “Most leave when you ask them. She didn’t.”
Layman was released from jail on $30,000 bond, according to court records. Layman’s address is listed as Dallas.
Layman said in court this week that she has worked as a court reporter for nine years, KHOU reports.
When Buzbee purchased the mansion near the River Oaks country club in 2013, it was listed at a record-setting $14 million, the Houston Chronicle reports.
“I’m all about setting records, but I’m not sure this is one I should be proud of or not,” Buzbee told the Chronicle in 2013.
But he wouldn’t say precisely how much he paid.
“All I'll say is the owner wasn’t budging that much,” Buzbee told the newspaper.
Buzbee hosted a fundraiser for presidential candidate Donald Trump at the home in 2016, the Chronicle reports. Attendees paid between $5,400 and a quarter of a million dollars to come.
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