The scene of one of Los Angeles's most bizarre and macabre murders—and its long, mysterious aftermath—is up for sale after lying derelict for more than half a century. The Los Feliz Murder House, a Spanish-style mansion at 2475 Glendower Place, is asking $2.75 million in a probate sale.
Per the listing, the 1925 house features four bedrooms and a "grand entrance with a step down living room with serene views, formal dining room, library/study, large kitchen, and a ballroom with bar on the third floor." Ghostly spirits or still-wrapped Christmas presents from decades past (both often mentioned by illicit visitors over the years) are not mentioned.
It was here that, in 1959, physician Harold Perelson murdered his wife Lillian in her sleep with a ball-peen hammer. He then attempted to do the same to his oldest daughter, Judye, who managed to escape to a neighbor's house. Telling his other children to go back to bed, Perelson retreated into the bathroom and killed himself with a concoction of Nembutal and tranquilizers. No one has ever really understood why, although there were money troubles.
The story has become the stuff of local legend (and the basis for an upcoming film), with fascination over the house and its history growing the longer it sat empty. Though the house was purchased shortly after the murder-suicide by a Lincoln Heights couple named Emily and Julian Enriquez, by all appearances it has been uninhabited since the 1960s. Eerie photos taken as recently as 2012 suggest that the home was abruptly abandoned, with food, home goods, and pieces of furniture left behind.
For now, it's hard to tell how the house's aging interior looks today. The listing features only a single photo--taken from what appears to be a sufficiently safe distance. The best we have are covert shots taken through windows (or in one case, from inside) by brave trespassers.
The Enriquez's son Rudy eventually inherited the house, but he died last year and had no children. Selling the house might be tough, given its sordid history and lack of maintenance over the decades. Still, given that it sits in the shadow of Griffith Park with unobstructed views of the city stretching all the way to Palos Verdes on a clear day, it's not hard to imagine an adventurous buyer offering something close to the asking price. As the listing has it, the notorious house of death is simply "waiting for that special person looking for a wonderful opportunity to remodel or develop."
- 2475 Glendower Place [Berkshire Hathaway]
- The Murder House [Medium]
- The Real Story Behind LA's Most Famous and Mysterious Murder House [Curbed LA]
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