American Murder Houses

Today we are delving into the world of America’s most notorious murder houses. The ones that are still standing and the ones that have been built in their place.

John Wayne Gacy ~ 8213 West, Summerdale Avenue, Norwood Park Township, Illinois

The brick ranch house where Gacy lived was torn to the ground in the wake of the police investigation. The police found 29 bodies in 1978/9, 26 of which were buried in the crawlspace beneath the house. In 1984, a loan company acquired the lot at a sheriff’s sale after paying off over $30,000 in mortgage repayments. The lot then stood vacant until it was bought by Patricia Jendrycki in 1988. The house that currently stands on the lot was built by Jendrycki and then sold in 2004 for $300,000. As of August 2019 the 3 bedroom, 2,500 square foot house was put on the market for $489,000. This price has since been cut 3 times.

Jeffrey Dahmer ~ Oxford Apartments, North 25th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin & 4480 West, Bath Road, Akron, Ohio

Jeffrey Dahmer murdered at least 17 boys and men between 1978 and 1991. 12 of Dahmer’s victims were experimented on and murdered in his apartment where police found dismembered body parts in both the bath and freezer. He also killed one of his victims in his childhood home in Ohio. After the gory discovery, the apartment block was bought by a local company in an attempt to revamp the neighbourhood. The complex was purchased for $325,000, much less than its estimated value. The 49 unit complex was demolished in November 1992 just 1 year after Dahmer’s arrest. Following the demolition, the city of Milwaukee purchased the plot for $500 and decided to leave it empty.

Dahmer’s childhood home in Ohio is still standing to this day. The 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home was bought by the Dahmer’s in 1968 when Jeffrey was just 8 years old. It is here, in 1978, where Dahmer murdered his first victim a hitchhiker named Steven Hicks. The 2,170 square foot home was last sold to musician Chris Butler in 2005 for $244,500. Butler had no idea that the house was where Dahmer grew up when he first viewed the property but soon realised that its wooded location was perfect for a loud band house. Butler recently allowed the property to be used in the filming of My Friend Dahmer with the production recreating what it may have looked like in the 70s.

Lizzie Borden ~ 230 2nd Street, Fall River, Massachusetts

In 1892, the double murders of Andrew and Abby Borden took place in this Fall River home on August 4th. Mr Borden purchased the property in 1872 and remodelled the 2-bed dwelling into the Borden family home. Many believe that daughter Lizzie was the culprit. Since 1996 the house has operated as a Bed and Breakfast/Museum. It is owned by Martha McGinn who inherited the house. Today the house is just as it was. Most of the furnishings are the same and the decor has been duplicated. Many of the murder artefacts are on display transporting its visitors back to the events of that ghastly morning.

Lizzie’s ‘Maplecroft’ Mansion was purchased after she was acquitted for the double murder. The mansion on 304 French Street, Fall River, has 7 bedrooms and Lizzie lived there from her acquittal in 1892 until her death in 1927. Maplecroft was also purchased by the owners of 230 2nd Street, to also renovate into a B&B/Museum, in 2018 for $600,000. As of 2020, the property was placed on the market for $890,000.

JonBenet Ramsey ~ 749 15th Street, Boulder, Colorado

On Christmas Eve 1996, 6-year-old beauty pageant star JonBenet Ramsey was found murdered in the basement. Parents John and Patsy moved back to their home town Atlanta shortly after their daughter’s death. The house was bought by Carol Schuller Milner and her husband Tim in 2004. Although the property is still currently owned by the Milners they only lived in the property for 2 years before moving back to South California. The 11,000 square foot historic home was put back on the market in 2008 and hasn’t been bought since even with the price being dropped below the original $2 million listing. The property is currently undervalued by half a million dollars and has sat empty ever since.

Charles Manson ~ 10050 Cielo Drive, Los Angeles, California

Cielo Drive was the rented home of Sharon Tate and the film director Roman Polanski. Tate who was 8 and a half months pregnant at the time, was brutally murdered alongside friends Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger and Steven Parent. The murders took place on August 8th 1969 by Texas Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Kneriwinkel and Linda Kasabian under the orders of ‘The Family’ cult leader Charles Manson.  The house dubbed ‘The Manson Murder House’ was sold in 1989 to real estate investor John Prell for $1.6 million. The final resident before its demolition in 1994 was Trent Razor of Nine Inch Nails who set up a recording studio there. Owner Alvin Weintraub had it demolished and a new house built. The new build was complete in 1996 and under a new address 10066 Cielo Drive and bears no resemblance to the original house. Named Villa Bella, was purchased by Hollywood producer Jeff Franklin in 2013 but as of August 2019, the property was on the market for an estimated price of $9.7 million.

OJ Simpson ~ 875 South Bundy Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles

Nicole Brown Simpson was the ex-wife of former professional football player OJ Simpson and mother of their two children Sydney and Justin. Nicole was murdered alongside her friend and restaurant waiter Ron Goldman in July 1994 just 2 years after her divorce from OJ. Nicole had been stabbed 7 times in the neck and scalp and was found outside in a pool of her own blood. OJ was tried for both murders but was acquitted in 1995. A civil trial 2 years later found him liable for their wrongful deaths. The house went on the market just months after the double murder. Having lingered on the market it finally sold in 1997 for $590,000, $200,000 under the initial asking price. The 4-bed, 4-bath home was soon remodelled by the new owner. In an attempt to distract tourists the front gate, walkway and entrance were drastically altered and has also been renumbered to 879. The house was later sold again in 2006 for $1.7 million.

Michael Peterson ~ 1810 Cedar Street, Durham, North Carolina

In 2003, Michael Peterson was convicted of killing his second wife Kathleen Peterson. However, 8 years later a new trial was granted due to a critical prosecution witness giving a misleading testimony. In 2017, Peterson submitted an Alford Plea to have the charge reduced to manslaughter. He was sentenced to time already served and was freed. The case was the subject of docuseries ‘The Staircase’ aptly named due to Kathleen being found dead at the bottom of the stairs. The house was put on sale just 20 days after the 2003 guilty verdict for $1.1 million. There were no initial takers and the price was dropped to $975,000. The sprawling colonial home finally sold in July 2004 at the much-reduced price of $675,000. After minimal renovation, it was listed in 2007 to be purchased by a medium name Biond Fury. They July last year te 19 room home was relisted and sold the next month for $1.6 million. Weirdly before being Peterson’s family home, Cedar Street was used in the 1990 dystopian adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale.