The ex-girlfriend of James Howells, the infamous man who lost a huge Bitcoin stash, has revealed details surrounding events. According to his former beau, Halfina Eddy-Evans, she threw the hard drive away. However, she did it with the go-ahead of Howells. According to her statement, she threw out the ‘rubbish’, clarifying that he begged her to do it while admitting she was unaware she was throwing away a fortune.
With Howells in a legal battle with Newport City Council to clear the site where the hard drive is likely to be, his ex-girlfriend said she is tired of being involved in the issue. She noted that she wants him to find the hard drive, not because she wants a share of the funds, but
because she wants him to stop dragging her into it.
James Howells and his $787 million BTC stash story
James Howells conducted an experiment that involved mining Bitcoin for 10 weeks. Although the experiment was a hobby at the time, looking for a way to keep himself busy with his computer. However, the experiment didn’t last long as his then-girlfriend, Eddy-Evans started to complain about the noise from the laptop’s fan keeping her awake at night. Howells stopped the experiment, but soon realized his laptop had overheated.
There was another incident where he accidentally spilled lemonade on it, damaging the entire system. After he got another system, he tried to recover most of his files by transferring them. However, the wallet’s private key was not transferred due to an incompatibility with Apple’s operating system. He kept the hard drive in a drawer for years after the incident. However, during a clearance in 2013, he asked Eddy-Evans to help dispose of some items.
Reluctantly, she took out the garbage, including the said hard drive, and threw it at a local landfill close to their place. At the time, she was oblivious to the contents of the hard drive. She noted that she didn’t attach any importance to the item because she thought it was another chore she was running on his behalf. She said she didn’t know the hard drive contained Bitcoin when she disposed of it.
Legal battles and the blame game
The trashed Bitcoin is now worth about $787 million after the asset’s price hit $99,000 per coin recently. In desperation to recover the hard drive, Howells has been embroiled in a legal battle with Newport City Council over the last few years. The council is in charge of the landfill, denying his several requests to clear out the place.
Although the landfill’s surface area is very large, Howells noted that he has narrowed down the search area, but the council is still not sold on his idea to clear the place. Officials gave several reasons including violating landfill permits, environmental risks, and others. “We’ve told Mr. Howells multiple times that this work isn’t possible. It would have a huge negative environmental impact,” a spokesperson said.
Howells has remained unperturbed, taking the Council to court to recover his lost property from the landfill. His lawsuit demands $620 million in damages, saying that the council is refusing to return his property. With the first hearing set for December 3, Newport Council City will be hoping the judgment favors them and the case is dismissed.
Eddy-Evans, in her case, is fed up with how the whole thing has unraveled. The pair share two teenage sons, but she revealed they no longer have a relationship. She is also tired of taking the blame for the loss. She revealed that Howells was obsessed with the hard drive, one of the reasons the couple split. Since Bitcoin’s price started to increase, she said Howells was fixed on recovering it by any means necessary.