THE SQUATTER OF POINT DUME

SURE, LET A NEIGHBOR USE THE GUEST ROOM FOR A FEW NIGHTS. WHAT COULD GO WRONG? A LOT, AS A SERIES OF UNSUSPECTING RESIDENTS LEARNED AFTER ONE WOMAN ALLEGEDLY EXPLOITED CALIFORNIA'S TENANCY LAWS TO TURN CASUAL STAYS INTO PROTRACTED EVICTION WARS IN AN EXCLUSIVE MALIBU ENCLAVE

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ON A COOL SEPTEMBER EVENING IN 2021, A 65-YEAR-OLD ARTIST NAMED ALDEN MARIN TOOK A STROLL DOWN TO THE MAJESTIC BEACH AT POINT DUME TO TAKE IN THE SUNSET.

The beach itself is public property, but the easiest ways to access the best parts are through private land owned by the residents of this upscale stretch of Malibu. In practice, its miles of picturesque cliffs and pristine coves are among the most exclusive preserves in California. Owning a “beach key” to one of the accesses is a serious status symbol. It means you’re a local. You belong.

On this particular evening, Alden would later tell his sister, he encountered a quirky, energetic middle-aged woman. She had shoulder-length frizzy brown hair, piercing blue eyes, and a British accent, and she introduced herself as Ellie Mae McNulty, an actor and screenwriter.

Alden, who had graduated from Stanford and attended the Sorbonne before running a successful wine business, had been battling stage IV melanoma for the past three years or so. The diagnosis and subsequent chemotherapy had left him struggling with major depression and distress, so their conversation was a welcome respite from the isolation of the pandemic.

He’d see McNulty a few more times over the next month, on the beach as well as at the supermarket and other shops in town. They became friendly, and McNulty suggested they attend an art exhibition together. Then, according to Alden, about a month after their first encounter on the beach, McNulty mentioned that she was looking for a place to stay for a few days while waiting for her next residence to be finished. By the end of their chat, Alden would later recall, he had invited her to stay at his two-bedroom condominium “for a few days until her new place was readied.”