working on a house where 3 were murdered

[huggytree]

I went to bid on a fire damaged house in the inner city of Milwaukee this afternoon. it was the scene of a triple homicide last week. a woman and her 2 kids. they put bags over the kids heads, put them into the bath tub and shot them in the head then started the house on fire. I got to crawl in that tub today to see if the damage to the tub meant a replacement...kind of freaky, kind of sad...its a tub replacement for sure...no blood that i could see...they sanitized it already...i have to replace the drain pipes for the tub...hope i dont find blood inside the pipes...

i work on fire damaged houses all the time, but this is a new combination.

i added a security guard onto my bid.

i never win these inner city bids because i charge extra...this will probably be the one i win...its my luck..

[vangogh]

That would be freaky. I'm not sure I'd want to bid on a job like that because of what happened, but I guess it's still just a house like any other house. if you do get the job do you think it'll feel weird working on it? I can imagine common noises would seem like something more than common noises. It would be hard to be there without thinking about what happened.

[huggytree]

i told the wife that i may bring some spirits home with me...

its a big story around here...people are bringing stuffed animals and hanging them from a tree in front of the house...cops keep going past the house too...

i do feel weird....i thought of my own kids suffering w/ bags over their heads when i was sitting in the tub...thats probably the difference between me and the guys who killed 2 children.

didnt see any bullet holes in the tub, but i didnt look at the walls closely..if it was a .22 it may not have gone through their heads.

nice things i am thinking about today eh?

the tub was barely cracked...how would you like to live there and take a bath in that tub if it isnt replaced? someone may.

[vangogh]

You'll have to watch out for ghosts if you get the job.

Totally natural to be thinking about your kids. When I was younger a friend of my brother was murdered by his brother in law. The brother in law thought the family had money which they didn't and he killed mom, dad, and my brother's friend.

My brother had just left for a month long bus trip on some tour around the country. Every day leading up to the bus trip he had been hanging out at his friend's house. He could easily have been there when everything happened and it was hard for me not to think about that for awhile.

As weird as it might be for you, it's going to be weirder for whoever eventually moves into the house. I wonder how long it will take to sell. I'm sure lots of people who would like the house won't be able to get past what happened in it.

[Evan]

Sometimes it is often better to not know all the details, because knowledge, in situations like this, can be quite frightening.

As a big lover of psychology, I really wonder what is going on in these criminals minds when they are doing them. Greed is certainly a motive, and it's unfortunate.

[Patrysha]

Jealousy and insanity are others.

I lived in a murder house for a couple of years ...when I lived with my mom for 2 years between 15 and 17, but I didn't really connect the dots until I was much older...that it was actually that house. Even with people trying to freak me out about ghosts and such when I lived there.

It gives me shivers to think of now...but back then it was just the way it was.

[rezzy]

This whole discussion makes me wonder whats happened in places we move into. How many of our residences have "seen" crimes committed, etc.

Its a scary thought, but I guess, the less we know the better. You aren't afraid of something until you learn why you should be afraid of it.

[huggytree]

the story is even worse...i was wrong about shooting the kids...it was a woman who did it....some kind of love triangle/robery thing...$800 is what she got....she shot the adult and duck taped the kids mouths, bagged their heads, put them in the tub and stabbed them...she broke the knife part way and had to go to the kitchen for another one to finish the kids off....then someone killer her a day later...there was a baby also that she took w/ her....its a goofy strange story....its on the news every day here.

Jeffry Domer was here in Milwaukee...they tore his apt. down....my dad had his grandfather for a school teacher in the 1930's......and my dad remembers getting a weird taxidermy call from someone around the time he said he called a taxidermist asking for advice...my dad was the first in the phone book for taxidermy...scary stuff

[Blessed]

Knowing the story and having kids yourself would make it "weird" to be working there.

There was a suicide in the master bedroom of our house - the surviving partner (live-in situation) couldn't handle staying in the house after that so she sold it cheap and we got a great deal. We didn't know the people, it wasn't on the news, they hadn't lived here long so the neighbors didn't know them either and it hasn't been a big deal for us. We're hoping to move soon because we've outgrown the house (it's a 1200 sq ft, 2 bedroom - the baby sleeps in our walk-in closet...) I'm not sure if we have to disclose the suicide or not when we sell.

It makes you wonder though what has gone on in the houses we live in - especially the old ones, my Grandmother lives in a house that was built in the early 1920's - it was condemned when she and my grandfather bought it in 1957 - now it's gorgeous and has served the family well. Unfortunately it's in Berkeley CA and won't be staying in the family after Grandma passes away. They say the man that built it had daughters and there were balcony's off all the upstairs windows and etc... when it was first built, those haven't survived the earthquakes but the house does still have some of it's original glass, all the original woodwork and trim, the original wood floors... and we have a bunch of great memories from there.

[huggytree]

my fire restoration customer has been doing poorly lately and not getting many of the jobs i bid on....of course this one there getting...the one id like to skip...ill be replacing that tub in 2 weeks.

[huggytree]

worked on the homicide house yesterday...no blood in the drains...

its all boarded up and i was working alone...i cant stop thinking about what happened all day while i was working in that room...a little freaky

[Patrysha]

That would be freaky. Is the job all done now? Or do you have to go back?

[vangogh]

I'm not sure how you could stop thinking about it while you're there. If you weren't alone maybe, but by yourself...

[huggytree]

i have been there 2x now with probably 2 more x to come....i did some of the demo work and will be installing the new tub on Friday....what a nice neighborhood. its in 1 of the 2 bad sides of town....right in the middle of gang territory.

ill be working quickly.

the whole 2nd floor is stripped down to bear studs now, so it looks less like a murder scene.

its a tie for the worst neighborhood ive worked in....ive only done 2 now in these types of neighborhoods...the last one i got my van robbed....i have an alarm now and do not leave any power tools in the van...i leave them at home or carry them inside the house...im hoping the neighbors leave me alone since im rebuilding the neighborhood 'child murder house'...

its also freaky because the lights are not working and the windows are boarded up...im walking around with a flashlight to do everything.