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Our house is where we wake up in the morning and where we sleep at night. It’s the place we want to find ourselves in after a long day at work. But what if the very place that you hope can provide you refuge is a place that has witnessed the worst of crimes? Would you still want to spend the next few years on these murder houses?
Apparently, some people are willing to forget about the past their residences hold, as they are still willing to live in their house even if it is the location of grisly murders.
Murder Houses People Still Live In
Here are ten murder houses from all around the world that are currently inhabited.
1. Nicole Brown Simpson’s Condo
Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave for at least four decades, you’ve probably heard of the O. J. Simpson murder case. The date was June 12, 1994, and the whole of America woke up to the news that O. J. Simpson was the suspect for a murder case. The victims? His ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman.
The victims’ bodies were found outside Nicole’s condominium in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. Reports revealed that Nicole suffered multiple stab wounds, her cervical vertebrae incised, leaving her head barely attached to the rest of her body. Goldman was stabbed multiple times as well, in the chest, abdomen, and his left thigh. There were incised wounds on his scalp, neck, face, and left hand.
The nature of the murders shocked the whole world. The heat surrounding the crime intensified when O. J. Simpson was tagged a suspect and brought in for questioning after a car chase. Simpson was acquitted of both counts of murder, although he was pronounced liable in a civil suit filed in 1997.
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The horrors brought about by the murders could still be felt in Nicole Simpson’s condo. But this did not stop its current owners from buying the Bundy Drive home. It’s worth noting, though, that it has been a hard sell. The four-bedroom house was unoccupied for two years, and it wasn’t until its price was decreased to $595,000 from $795,000 that it was finally purchased.
2. The House of JonBenét Ramsey
JonBenét Ramsey was the picture of a perfect child: young, talented, cheerful, and one with incomparably good looks. She brought happiness to anyone who got to talk to her.
But the young child’s life, which she lived spreading happiness, was cut short when she was murdered on December 26, 1996. She was only six years old.
The murder case of JonBenét remains unsolved to this day. There have been suspects, but nobody was ever convicted for taking the life of the young girl.
The location of the murder was the Ramsey residence, where JonBenét lived with her parents, John Bennett and Patsy Ramsey. Shortly after the murder, the Ramseys moved to Atlanta. Ever since, the house, which is located at 749 15th Street in Boulder, Colorado, remained unoccupied until it was bought by Carol Schuller Milner.
Milner was aware of the disturbing history of what could be considered one of the most infamous murder houses ever, but she found it “stupid not to just walk through it.” She fell in love with the home as soon as she stepped inside it and purchased it.
The Milners lived in the house for a brief period before putting it up for sale again in 2008 for under $2 million.
3. The Sowden House
First look at the Sowden House will leave you wanting it for yourself, what with the fancy design and just an entirely expensive look. But if you know the dark past it’s been hiding for seventy-one years, you’d rather live in a single-room house.
The year 1947 started on the wrong foot, as on January 14, a young lady’s body was found in a rather quiet neighborhood in Los Angeles—mutilated and severed in the waist.
The victim was later identified as Elizabeth Short, a 22-year-old aspiring actress. After her death, she acquired the nickname Black Dahlia, as a Long Beach drugstore owner said it was what male customers called her. An intense investigation was conducted and more than a hundred suspects were produced, but still, no arrests were ever made. And seven decades later, the Black Dahlia murder case remains unsolved.
One of the suspects in the case was American physician George Hill Hodel who had bought and lived in the Sowden house from 1945 till 1950. Recent developments in the case have it that it was in the Hollywood home that Short was slain and bisected. Ever since Holden’s name was connected to the case, the house gained a reputation of being one of the most notorious murder houses on earth. But none of the spine-tingling stories about the house stopped people from living in it.
The house was purchased in 2001 for $1.2 million and underwent renovations, which cost $1.6 million. It is currently on sale and is valued at $4.8 million.
4. The LaBianca House
A lot of things happened in 1969: the Beatles released another number-one single, Sen. Ted Kennedy was given a suspended prison sentence for leaving the scene where an accident that led to the death of a campaign worker happened, and Apollo 11 landed on the moon.
But none of these events shocked the world more than the Manson murders did.
The Manson family had always been notorious for their unconventional lifestyle. Led by Charles Manson, the cult was formed by Manson himself by gathering around a hundred “followers.” These people, who were mostly young women, would later engage in activities that often involved drugs.
The group did not come to national attention until one Saturday night, August 9, 1969. Tex Watson, a member of the Manson family, and three others, murdered actress Sharon Tate—under the instructions of Charles Manson. The group barged into the Tate residence and murdered the then-pregnant actress and four other people. The next night, Manson, who was disappointed over the “sloppiness” of the August 9 murders led another set of murders. This time, the victims were supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary.
The house where the first murders took place, which was located in Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills, California, was destroyed. The second, however, which can be found in Waverly Drive, Los Angeles, still stands. With the nature of the crime it witnessed, people expected that the house would remain unoccupied. But much to everyone’s surprise, there have been a good number of people who chose to live in there even after knowing what transpired in August 1969. It was given an upgrade even, now having a pool and carport.
The house, which was last sold in 1998 for $375,000, is now valued at $862,685.
5. Delphine LaLaurie’s Mansion
Not all fancy things are enviable; some of them hide a rather evil past that you’d wish you never knew. One of these murder houses is in Madame Lalaurie’s mansion. While it looks grandiose on the outside, the dark past it hides will send chills down your spine.
Madame Dephine LaLaurie was a socialite who came from a very prominent family. She married thrice, widowed twice. Despite everything, Madame Lalaurie was able to hold her position in New Orleans society for a long time.
But everything changed on April 10, 1834. Responding to a fire at her mansion, firefighters discovered more than just a burning house. There at the mansion were bound slaves who were subjected to violent abuse.
Authorities found out that the respected lady held black slaves in her attic and tortured them over a long period. Further investigation revealed that not only did she torture her slaves, she murdered a good number of them.
Words about Madame LaLaurie’s diabolic ways spread, driving the socialite to flee New Orleans. While she successfully invaded punishment, her story remained carved into the town’s history. With this is the house that witnessed the ordeal the slaves had to go through.
The LaLaurie mansion still stands today and can be found at 1140 Royal Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. It has been sold, purchased, restored, sold again, bought by the Regions Financial Corporation in 2009, until it was purchased by Michael Whalen in 2010.
Over the last century following the gruesome murders, the LaLaurie mansion has been used for different purposes: as a public high school, an apartment building, a bar, furniture store, and a refuge for young delinquents.
