Thanks are due and given to one of Dolores' family members who brought into the open the fact that Ethan Maxwell is in the process of selling his house in Bray. This of course raises the very interesting question of why Ethan would do this. We don't know. We have an idea or two that might explain it. Prior to sharing our speculation, we will look at a few other things that have been revealed through this information.

We have confirmed that the images on the listing site are positively those of Ethan's house and not file images from similiar properties. We see that the exterior configuration has changed. An older image from the spring of 2011 is on the left, the newer one is on the right, presumably taken in the fall of 2011.



The light under the eave near the master bedroom window has been relocated to below the window level of the master bedroom. If the new light has a motion sensor as the old one did, this relocation has two effects: It gives an earlier alert when motion is detected as the range of the sensor now reaches further towards the footpath, and being below the window, it allows Ethan to look out of his window with less chance of being spotted when the light is on.

In the newer image we also see another piece of unknown hardware that has been added near the CCTV camera at the front entrance. Although these changes are most likely unimportant, one of the members of Dolores-Maxwell.com has kindly offered to take a set of clearer photos the next time he is in Bray. We have found over and over that the tiniest piece of information can have great effect later.



In the interior of Ethan's Bray residence, there are some items of interest.

The dryer that is partially obscured by the table and chairs is interesting. Of course Dolores herself never used a dryer. Clothes were either hung outside, placed in the hot press or on the radiators to dry. However, this dryer did spend time in Dolores' home in Rosslare, as seen in the following images:


This was no basic, “get the job done” €200 condenser. This dryer, a Siemans WT46s597GB, is one of the most expensive dryers available at the time it was purchased. It would cost anywhere from €650 up to more than €800. The purchaser, a “Mr Maxwell” residing at Dolores' address, also purchased an extended 5 year warranty for his new dryer.

It was purchased in September of 2010, shortly before Dolores was rushed to Wexford General. We don't expect the reader to believe for a nano–second that Dolores purchased this dryer. We don't either. There was no “Mr Maxwell” residing in Rosslare with Dolores, of course. Mr Cecil Maxwell, Dolores' husband, had died in January 2008. We consider this purchase to be originated by Ethan Maxwell as his plundering of Dolores' finances accelerated before her death.

Besides, “Mr Maxwell” needed that dryer. He believed, according to witness accounts, that Dolores “…wouldn't be around much longer.” She wouldn't be able to wash, dry, and iron his clothes any more, as she had all his life. The 36 year old “Mr Maxwell” didn't even have a clothesline in his garden. He needed that dryer.

[Editor's note: See Dolores' Greenhouse. Ethan's free use of Dolores' accounts came to a halt in October 2010, a couple of weeks after Dolores entered Wexford General. After much effort Saoirse convinced Dolores' financial institutions to freeze her Mom's credit and debit cards, etc. Athough his help in this matter was requested, Dolores' solicitor Damian Brass was either unable or unwilling to assist. ]



The sitting room in Ethan's Bray residence is interesting. The lamp in the centre near the fireplace was Dolores'.

We make note of the large TV, which is worthy of further comment in a moment.

[Editor's note: Under the terms of Dolores' last known will, Ethan received all the items in her house. Any item he wanted was shipped to his residence in Bray at the Estate's expense. Exploring Dolores' will is not in the scope of this page, but we think it appropriate to mention a couple of things about it here.

Including the use of pronouns that refer to them, six of Dolores' children were mentioned three times each. Three of her children were mentioned two times each. One child was mentioned eight times. That would be Ethan. There was no mention of her beloved brother, her grandchildren (two of which she had a very large role in raising), any of her nieces or nephews, and no mention of any charities. This will is in many ways more shocking for what it did not say, than for what it did.

We should also note that statements by the purported “witnesses” to this will, if true, would absolutely invalidate it. A bit more detail can be had in the FAQ about Dolores' will. ]



Cecil Maxwell snapped a picture of the TV in Rosslare with his mobile before his death. According to statements by family members, Ethan forced Cecil and Dolores to purchase this TV for their home in Rosslare for Ethan's enjoyment. It was certainly out of proportion to the room, which was used as both the sitting and dining room. Because of the poor quality of Cecil's mobile image, we cannot say for certain if this is the same TV as we see in Ethan's residence.

Although we are 99.99% sure it is, we can't discount the possibility that Ethan skipped the TV when he threw away so many of Dolores' possessions the evening of her admittance to Wexford General (including her favorite chair, which he made sure to break into pieces, according to witness accounts). We have to consider the possibility that he sold it, as we believe he did to most of Dolores' silver, sometime between September 27 and October 16, 2010 while Dolores lay in Wexford Hospital.

This is the TV stand in Dolores' home; also left were the DVD and VHS players. Evidence suggests that Ethan enjoyed watching movies during his trips to Rosslare. His taste in movies is perhaps a bit unusual for someone of his age, mostly slasher and horror movies.



We return to the question that began our page: Why is Ethan selling his house? A few facts will help us understand the situation better:

• Dolores and Cecil were forced to purchase a house in Finglas, Dublin and deed it to Ethan in 2005. The house was paid for outright, free and clear, from the proceeds of the sale of the Maxwell family house. The purchase price as best as can be determined was in the neighbourhood of €360,000. (In Ireland, the purchase price of real estate is not a matter of public record.)
• Ethan took a regular job and mortgaged this house as soon as he was employed the requisite number of months to qualify. The mortgage was through EBS. This was at the height of the property bubble in Ireland; 100% mortgages were common, although we can't say how much the mortgage was for.
• Late in 2008, after losing a planning board matter against his neighbours and being cautioned by the Gardai over activities Ethan directed towards these neighbours, Ethan wanted to move. He placed his Finglas residence on the market, asking close to the price paid by Dolores and Cecil when it was purchased. This rapidly drops, last being listed publicly for €285,000. Similiar properties in his estate at the time were listing for as low as €220,000.
  
  [Editor's note: Dolores and Cecil's house reportly sold for about €600,000. Evidence exists that suggest it was actually sold for a price somewhat north of €800,000, which would be more believable given the location and property market at the time. We note that there was a brown envelope stuffed full of cash that was involved in the sale of this house. Perhaps that explains the discrepancy. ]
  
  

• A brand new Toyota Corolla 4–door was purchased about the time that Ethan's Finglas residence was placed on the market. It was paid for in full, free and clear. Ethan had a new car, seen here in front of the Bray residence.
• On 20 January 2009, two days before the one year anniversary of Cecil's death, Ethan purchases his current residence in Bray, for about €420,000. He is mortgaged once again with EBS, for an unknown amount. At the top of the bubble, similiar houses in this large estate were commanding prices of nearly €600,000. Damian Brass, who represented Ethan in this transaction, registers the property in the Land Office using one of Ethan's other names.
• Ethan's associate and designated “family spokesman” Lloyd Montgomery enters our narrative here. He sells his apartment in Wexford, which he bought in 2001. On 5 February 2009, Lloyd Montgomery purchases the house in Finglas; this is also mortgaged through EBS. The terms of the deal Ethan struck with his partner are unknown.
• Less than three years after he purchases the Bray Residence, Ethan places it on the market sometime in October 2011 for €280,000. It drops to an asking price of €270,000 shortly thereafter on 09 November. It is priced well below similiar properties in the area.
• On or about 18 November the listing is changed to say “Sale Agreed.”

Although the listing, and the for sale sign on the Bray property notes “Sale Agreed,” it means very little in Ireland. It is still on the market, available for other offers. At the most, “Sale Agreed” means a potential buyer has placed a very small refundable deposit with the auctioneer, to show his level of interest. Barring a cash sale, the purchaser would then shop for one of the rarest things in Ireland these days, a mortgage. If he/she is able to secure a mortgage, then most likely an engineer's inspection of the property will take place, and if all goes well, a contract will be signed. An optimistic scenario would see the house sold sometime well into 2012.

[Editor's note: Update, 02 October 2012 This page was first published on 12 December 2011. Thanks to information provided by a source outside of Ireland, we can now report that the Bray property was sold on 18 January 2012, and that the actual selling price was €240,000 – about 60% of what Ethan purchased it for.

We also note that while the property was on the market, Ethan sought to sell certain items and leased a self–storage unit in Tallaght, Dublin. ]

Given the facts above, we can think of four reasons Ethan may be selling this house that we will explore, and two reasons we will leave unspoken.

1. It is a financial move. We think this has a low probability of being true. It's hard to imagine Ethan realising more than a very modest gain, if any, from the sale of this Bray property. Even if he hadn't taken a mortgage out on Finglas, we think the mortgage on the Bray property wouldn't be less than 50% of purchase price, or about €200,000. We think it likely he, like so many other people in Ireland at the present time, is upside down.
2. Ethan is preparing to assume a new identity. We assign a bit more probability to this. We know that he is experienced and comfortable with the use of aliases, and we know he has assumed the role of a solicitor before. See the FAQ, Who is Mark Sinnott.
   
   [Editor's note: We are aware of other roles Ethan has assumed. For example, we are in receipt of hard evidence that indicates he would put on the brown robe of a Franciscan friar while in Rosslare with Dolores. Dolores had a long, long relationship with the Franciscans, and supported them all her life. She loved them, as anyone who knew her well could attest. At one point during Dolores' hospitalisation at Wexford General, Franciscans entered her room to give her comfort. The abject fear and extreme agitation she exhibited at the sight of the brown robes was heartwrenching and deeply disturbing.
   
   In scattered places on this site we have grazed the bare surface of the extreme indignities suffered by Dolores and what we consider the depravities she was subjected to. Frankly, we do not have the stomach to write about it. Hard evidence… ]
3. Ethan is preparing to flee Ireland. Maybe. On the foot of this, we have alerted the bodies we perceive to have an active interest in this possibility.
4. Ethan is forced to sell this property. We give this a higher probability than the other three. It is not in his nature as we understand it to willingly take such a financial hit, regardless of the fact that his forays into real estate have been funded by other people's money. There are a few scenarios we can speculate that would bring this about. However, until we have a clearer sight of this situation we will leave it here.

Our grateful thanks once again to the person who brought this issue to light.

[Editor's note: We encourage anyone with more information about this issue to contact us. As always, we seek and encourage anyone with knowledge of Dolores' life and/or the events presented here to contribute to this site. Memories, anecdotes, photos and documents are more than welcome. Clarification, correction and alternative views are encouraged and welcomed. Submissions ]





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