One of the homes in which the Manson Family committed two gruesome murders has reportedly been sold to Zak Bagans, the star of Ghost Adventures.
The Los Angeles home was the location where, one night after the group – led by Charles Manson – murdered Hollywood actor Sharon Tate and four others, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were fatally stabbed by Manson and his followers.
The married couple were stabbed multiple times – Rosemary 41 times and Leno 12 – on August 10, 1969 in their Waverly Drive home. Now, that very same home has been purchased for $1.98 million.
As reported by TMZ, Zak couldn’t let the opportunity pass when he heard the house was up for sale, rushing to view it before making an offer close to the asking price.
The American paranormal investigator told the publication he was drawn to the home’s history as a collector of ‘dark culture’, adding the main thing that attracted him to the purchase was the fact almost everything inside the house is original.
Although Zak won’t say what he plans to do with the house, he says it has a storied past beyond the Manson murders – including the legends that dogs have mysteriously disappeared from the property and occupants have been spooked by what they say is paranormal activity.
The deal will close at the beginning of September, approximately one month after the 50 year anniversary of the murder.
Leno and Rosemary’s deaths are somewhat overshadowed by Sharon Tate’s, who was only 26 years old when she, her unborn child, three of her friends, and a visitor of the home were murdered.
On August 9, 1969, Tate, who was eight-and-a half months pregnant, hairstylist Jay Sebring, aspiring screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski, and Frykowski’s girlfriend Abigail Folger, had their lives brutally taken from them at the rented home of Tate and her husband director Roman Polanski.
Eighteen-year-old student Steven Parent was also murdered after he turned up at the house to visit the property’s caretaker, William Garretson, who lived in the guest house. The murders sent shock waves through Hollywood, however the Manson Family weren’t yet finished.
Unlike the group’s previous victims who were known in Hollywood circles, the LaBiancas weren’t known or notorious and their murders seemed entirely random.
As per Rolling Stone, Manson entered the couple’s house, tied them up, then left before three of his followers – Charles ‘Tex’ Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten – stabbed them to death.
The group wrote ‘Rise’, ‘Death to Pigs’ and ‘Healter Skelter’ – a misspelled reference to the Beatles’ song – in the couple’s blood on the walls and the refrigerator.
The news of the house sale comes on the day the Quentin Tarantino film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – which is nominally structured around the Manson family murders – is released in the US.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will be in UK cinemas from August 15.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).