James Lee DiMaggio, the man at the center of the kidnapping saga involving San Diego County teenager Hannah Anderson and the killings of her mother and 8-year-old brother, left his life insurance to the children's grandmother, a family spokesman confirmed Monday. 
 
 Andrew Spanswick, a spokesman for James DiMaggio's family, said the 40-year-old left $112,000 to Bernice Anderson, whom he named his beneficiary in 2011. 
 
 DiMaggio's sister spoke to him once about his beneficiary, Spanswick said, and he indicated that the money was to go to Hannah and her brother, Ethan. DiMaggio told his sister he didn't want to leave it to the children's parents because he felt their relationship was "too unstable" and they might divorce, Spanswick said. 
 
 PHOTOS: Search for missing teen 
 
 DiMaggio, who was best friends with Hannah and Ethan's father, was so close a friend to the Anderson family that the children called him "Uncle Jim." 
 
 He was shot and killed in a remote stretch of Idaho wilderness Aug. 10 when FBI agents raided the campsite where he and Hannah were tracked after a nearly weeklong search that triggered Amber Alerts across the West. 
 
 Hannah was rescued safely. DiMaggio, who authorities said fired at least once at the agents before he was killed, was shot at least five times in the head and torso, the Valley County, Idaho, coroner said. 
 
 The search began Aug. 4, after the bodies of Hannah's mother and 8-year-old brother were found at DiMaggio's burning San Diego County property. Authorities allege that DiMaggio set up a trap by asking the family to come to his home so he could say goodbye before moving to Texas. 
 
 Christina Anderson's body was found in a standalone garage, with blood near her head and a crowbar nearby, according to search warrants released last week. Her son's body was later found burned in the home. Both had been "tortured and killed," the documents noted. 
 
 The family's "medium brown dog" was also found shot to death under a sleeping bag, the warrants said. 
 
 Investigators believe the fires on the property were set separately, possibly with timing devices and accelerant, according to the warrants. Incendiary devices and "arson wire" were later found on the property. 
 
 The search warrants provided some insight into the investigation, including the communication between Hannah and DiMaggio. Letters from Hannah were among the items seized from his home, the documents showed, and investigators said the teen and DiMaggio "called each other approximately 13 times" before their cellphones were shut off about 4 p.m. Aug. 4. 
 
 The documents did not specify during what time period the calls occurred. They also did not detail what the letters -- along with a handwritten note seized from DiMaggio's property -- said. 
 
 San Diego County sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said Friday that the department's investigation was ongoing and declined to comment on the specifics of the warrants. 
 
 But she reiterated previous comments from Sheriff Bill Gore, who said Hannah "was not a willing participant." 
 
 "As Sheriff Gore said earlier in the week, Hannah is a victim in every sense of the word," Caldwell said in an email. "Our follow-up investigation has not changed that sentence." 
 
 Hannah, who has returned to California, attended a fundraiser held on her behalf Thursday at a Lakeside restaurant. She did not speak to reporters as she walked inside, but her father said she "sends her love" and was "doing good day by day." 
 
 ALSO: 
 
 Hannah Anderson friend: Teen is 'acting strong for everyone' 
 
 Hannah Anderson a victim, even with calls, letters, officials say 
 
 Letters from Hannah Anderson, handcuff boxes found at DiMaggio's home 
 
 Twitter: @katemather | Google+ 
 
 kate.mather@latimes.com 

 A man who died in a shootout with FBI agents after kidnapping a 16-year-old girl and killing her mother and brother named a member of the victims' family as his life insurance beneficiary, a spokesman for the man's family said Monday. 
 
 FILE - This 2013 file photo provided by Andrew Spanswick, a friend of James Lee DiMaggio, shows DiMaggio posing for a photo in a restaurant in West Hollywood, Calif. Hannah Anderson, the 16-year-old California... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013 file photo, Hannah Anderson arrives at the Boll Weevil restaurant for a fundraiser in her honor to raise money for her family, in Lakeside, Calif. Five days earlier,... (Associated Press) 
 
 James Lee DiMaggio left $112,000 to Hannah Anderson's paternal grandmother, said Andrew Spanswick. He didn't know why but believes it was for the benefit of Hannah, the girl abducted by DiMaggio. 
 
 Hannah was rescued in the FBI shootout on Aug. 10 in the Idaho wilderness and returned home to San Diego. 
 
 DiMaggio, 40, had been like an uncle to the Anderson children and the father's best friend. 
 
 DiMaggio named Bernice Anderson as the sole beneficiary of his employer-issued life insurance policy in 2011, substituting her for his sister Lora Robinson, the lone survivor of his immediate family, Spanswick said. 
 
 DiMaggio lived with Bernice Anderson for about two years before buying a house in 2009 in Boulevard, about 65 miles east of San Diego, Spanswick said. 
 
 Authorities found the remains of Christina Anderson, 44, and Ethan Anderson, 8, in the Boulevard house after it was set on fire. 
 
 DiMaggio's sister called Hannah's father, Brett Anderson, on Friday to tell him about the life insurance payment. 
 
 "They had a long conversation about their mutual loss, trying to make sense of what happened, and neither of them had an explanation," Spanswick said. "Brett seemed to recognize that Lora was as much a victim in this as everyone else. He wished her the best." 
 
 A spokeswoman for Brett Anderson and his family, Stacy Hess, declined to comment. 
 
 DiMaggio worked as a telecommunications technician at The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego. Spokeswoman Jan Coury also declined to comment. 
 
 Steven Weisbart, chief economist at the industry-backed Insurance Information Institute, said insurers generally won't challenge a claim unless the beneficiary is suspected of involvement in the death. 
 
 Investigators have given no indication that DiMaggio had any accomplices. 
 
 "Pretty much as long you're dead, the insurance company has very little opportunity to deny the claim," Weisbart said. 
 
 Lora Robinson has taken possession of her brother's cat, Princess, from Hannah Anderson, Spanswick said. DiMaggio, a cat-lover, took Princess while on the run, and the cat was reunited with Hannah after the rescue.
– In another twist in the Hannah Anderson kidnapping case, the kidnapper who murdered the teen's mother and brother has left his life insurance payout to her paternal grandmother, family members say. James DiMaggio, who was shot dead by police last week, left $112,000 to the grandmother, who he named as his beneficiary in 2011 in place of the sister who was the only surviving member of his immediate family, the Los Angeles Times reports. DiMaggio, 40, was the best friend of Brett Anderson, the children's father, and they treated him like an uncle. Days after his death, DiMaggio's sister called Anderson to tell him about the life insurance payout. "They had a long conversation about their mutual loss, trying to make sense of what happened, and neither of them had an explanation," a DiMaggio family spokesman tells the AP. Insurers are not expected to challenge the claim.