Ghost Adventures star Zak Bagans reportedly bought the home where members of Charles Manson‘s cult killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in 1969. The home was listed for $1.988 million just last week. Bagans told TMZ he jumped at the chance to buy it and said the deal will close in early September.
Bagans told TMZ he “literally ran” to see the house after he read reports of it being listed for sale. He made a “close-to-asking officer.” The realtor said there were several other officers, so Bagans was wise to contact Redfin Realty as soon as possible. Bagans said the home is a “holy grail” for him, since it was the site of such a gross scene. Most of the interior is original, which was one reason that he was really attracted to the property.
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It is not clear if Bagans plans to use the property for an episode of Ghost Adventures. He told TMZ there are other creepy stories linked to the home, including cases of disappearing dogs. Other occupants have been scared by “paranormal activity” at the home.
Members of the Manson Family broke into the LaBianca house the night after members of the cult killed actress Sharon Tate and four friends on Aug. 8, 1969. Manson was reportedly agitated by the attention the murders at the house Tate was renting received, so he decided to commit another murder.
Manson and his followers found the LaBianco home. They brutally murdered Leno, a supermarket executive, and his wife Rosemary, the co-owner of a dress shop. It is not clear why Manson picked them. One theory suggests Manson went to a party at the home next to the victims the year before.
Manson and Charles “Tex” Watson first told the LaBiancas they would only be robbed. Then, he told two of his followers, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten, to kill the couple. Watson stabbed Leno, then Van Houten repeatedly stabbed Rosemary in the kitchen.
The Manson members wrote the words “rise” and “death to pigs” on the walls with the blood of the victims. They wrote a misspelled “Healter Skelter” on the refrigerator door. Before leaving, the killers took a shower at the LaBiancas’ home.
In June, Van Houten was denied parole for the third time in the past three years. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said that Van Houten, who was 19 years old when she met Mason, might have bettered herself in prison, but that does not outweigh her actions.
“Ms. Van Houten and the Manson family committed some of the most notorious and brutal killings in California history,” Newsom said, reports CNN. “When considered as a whole, I find the evidence shows that she currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time.”
Watson, one of the major members of the cult, has been in prison since 1971.
Manson died in prison in November 2017 at age 83.
Photo credit: Getty Images
