Calgary home where five people were stabbed to death is for sale

The tragedy of what happened in a Calgary home last April, when five young men and women were stabbed to death during a Spring Break house party, is second-to-none. Five mourning families still suffer through the loss and the loved ones of Matthew de Grood, charged in the murders, still struggles for answers.

But life does go on. Those affected need to find a way to move past the remorse. And for the family that owns the home where the attack occurred, that includes selling the property and moving away.

The Calgary Herald reports that the Brentwood neighbourhood home was put up for sale this week, with nary a mention of the brutal incident that occurred there.

An MLS listing for the address in question describes a four-bedroom detached home located near shopping, public transit and schools. The sale price is $489,900.

The description attached reads:

Perhaps you almost can't blame the real estate agent for not mentioning the five fatal stabbings that took place there on April 15. According to the Herald, the Calgary Real Estate Board states that realtors only have to disclose such information if it relates to a structural or safety defect. Everything else is left to the seller's discretion.

Still, the argument of "buyer beware" has been challenged in the past. In 2012, a Toronto-area couple sued their real estate agent after she sold them a house they later learned had been the site of a double murder.

The couple described the murder as a "material defect… which stigmatized, psychologically impacted and tainted the property."

The issue of stigmatized homes is so wrought with peril there is even a website that tracks such addresses. While there are more than 700 Calgary addresses listed on House Creep, many listed as former grow ops, the location in question is not among them.

But while it's none too pleasant to be the one buying a murder house, it must also be tough to be the one selling. This family, after all, did not cause these deaths. They are not accused criminals, and only want to move on with their lives.

The sale of murder houses often goes down differently, especially when they are the former homes of those charged in the crimes.

The house where infamous murderer Paul Bernardo once lived was demolished in 1995. According to the Toronto Star, the property was purchased by the city and later, with the consent of the victim's family, a new home was built on the site.

The rural Ontario home of Russell Williams – the ex-colonel who pleaded guilty to breaking and entering, sexual assault and murder charges in 2010 – also sold following his incarceration. This time, however, it was his neighbour who bought the home.

Maclean's reported on the sale in 2012, noting that the families of his victims approved of the sale, and that the $165,000 price tag would go toward settling lawsuits that had been filed against the Williams estate.

Another advantage of the move was that it avoided most of the attention a public listing would have received.

The Brentwood house listing, for example, received the same spate of public attention this week that a similar Calgary murder house listing did in 2010. In that case, the house up for sale had been the site of a quadruple murder, after the home’s owner, Joshua Lall, murdered his wife, two of their three children and the family's basement tenant.

One significant difference between then and now? The listing in that case advised interested parties to contact a listing agent to receive important "disclosure details."

This one assured interested parties that the property had “the right bones” for their family.

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