On, July 2st, 2004 the house in Glenroy where the Crawford family were murdered was put up for Auction. In what is probably the most bizzare coincidence of all, this is the exact date, 34 years to the date when the bodies of the family were discovered at Loch Ard Gorge.
The words on the sales billboard were equally as bizzare - how odd that a house with such a terrible history would be described as a home that was "unique for all the right reasons", along with the promise that a "Blissful family life" awaited the new owners.

I joined the small crowd milling around the house in the early afternoon. A typical Melbourne winter's day, it was partially sunny, but cold and windy. Conditions similar to 34 years earlier when the bodies of Theresa, Katherine, James & Karen were discovered at Loch Ard Gorge. The real-etate agent, urged me to look inside the house, little did he know of my connections and deep seated fears of this house. But I knew he knew what had happened there and I wanted to ask him how he could sell such a place to unsuspecting buyers (which was recently made illegal after a similar occurence in Sydney (buyers not told that the house they bought had been the scene of a murder)) - but I didn't broach the subject with him. I took a deep mental breath and stepped into what to me for 34 years had been nothing but a place of fear and mystery.

I immediately noticed, the meter box was painted but unchanged. Here before me were the very fuses that Elmer Crawford replaced with normal wire so they wouldn't fuse as he electrocuted his family. The hallway was wider than I imagined, and I stepped inside. On the left was a bedroom, in 1970, this had been the living room - the fireplace was gone. Back into the hallway and into what still is a master bedroom - for the first time I was looking out through windows I had only ever looked at from the other side - what a strange feeling it was. Even the power points were the older style ones common in the 70's. Further up the hall and to my left was what was originally Katherine's & Karen's bedroom. Now a loungeroom, the windows where Police clambered through all those years ago were still there, still the same. The far wall of the bedroom has been opened up, so it combines with the kitchen (which has also been extended outwards) to act as a lounge/dining area. But the walls where Katherine's blood once spattered were still there, it felt strange being there, I didn't want to spend much time lingering. Into the kitchen and it was bigger than I imagined - I thought of Elmer Crawford's hurredly left bowl of cereal and visualised him sitting there. Back into the hall and into James' bedroom - a very small narrow room, it was still used now as a storage room, much as it was when James occupied it. The bathroom was positively tiny. A combined bath/shower occupied one wall, and a small basin occupied all the remaining space - above me was the manhole covere where Elmer would climb up to stash his stolen goods.

I walked out through the kitchen and into the laundry and toilet area, where Crawford had dragged his dying family, their blood streaking the path as he did so. The backyard has been extensively modified, the old garage is long gone and has been replaced with a double brick garage and pergola entertaining area. The backyard was neat, with fruit trees and a vegetable garden. Unbelievably, there was the Crawford children's swing set - well the frame at least, the swings long gone, and even more astonishing was up against the back fence was Elmer Crawford's trailer.

I left the house somewhat sad. What to those who didn't know was just a very average suburban house, desperately in need of modernising. To myself and I'm sure a number of others going through the house, it was a place of untold horror, and a murder case that sadly still remains unsolved. I dream of the house, nothing bad, nothing good - but stepping inside that house is one of those rare events in your life that you never forget.


This is the True Story of the infamous Australian murder case - the Crawford Family Murders