With apologies to
e_r and
sopas ej:
The Perelson case is one of those crimes that people get obsessed with (although nothing like on the scale of the Black Dahlia).
Dr Harold Perelson, 50, (originally from New York) lived with his wife Lillian, a 42-year-old Buckeye, and their children: Judye, 18, Joel, 13, and Debbie, 11, in a 5,000 sq ft Spanish-style home at 2475 Glendower Place in Los Feliz. (Finished basement with servants' quarters, high-ceilinged main floor, 4bd/3ba upstairs and a ballroom on the third floor.) It was built for $20K in 1925, designed by Henry A Weiner. As one can see from the map the property runs from Glendower Place to Glendower Avenue with Frank Lloyd Wright's
much larger Ennis House across the avenue:
gsv
On 6 December 1959, after his family went to bed, and for reasons not entirely clear, Dr Perelson elected to bludgeon his wife to death in their bed. Daughter Judye, apparently hearing the commotion, entered her parents' room and was also attacked with the same ball-peen hammer that her father had just used to kill her mother. Judye escaped and, covered in blood, ran down the hill to the next-door neighbors at No. 2471. The younger children, investigating their sister's screams were told by their father to go back to bed as it was only a nightmare. The alarmed neighbor from No. 2471 ran up the hill to the Perelson house, encountered the agitated and blood-soaked doctor and told him to go lie down. Dr Perelson obeyed but drank a glass of acid before lying down and dying next to his wife:
The couple were buried next to each other with matching headstones at Home of Peace (a misnomer in this case) Cemetery in Whittier:
find a grave
The children were taken away by out-of-state relatives.
So far so good. It's the next bit that's the weird part. The home was sold with contents intact (I hope somebody at least threw the murder bed out), in a probate auction some months after the murder/suicide, to Emily and Julian Enrique of Lincoln Heights. Without much disturbing the Perelson's belongings, the Enriques stored some filing cabinets in the home, but never stayed there. Son Rudy Enrique, a retired music store manager from Mount Washington, inherited in 1994 and continued as his parents had. He has said he has no interest in selling the house or using it either (
Zillow now values it at $4.1 million). The only maintenance done has been in response to city complaints (the exasperated neighbors also banded together to paint the curbside garage). After 56 years, there's so much water damage, the house would need gutting and a new interior at the very
least to make it habitable again, but it's now probably a tear-down. Views through the uncurtained windows show a spooky tableau of mid-century family life where 1960 never arrived:
mylabucketlist
The Enrique's filing cabinets keeping company down in the basement with Mrs. Perelson's hand washing:
mylabucketlist
I'm not sure what happened to the children. Some are convinced that Judye is now
Judith Hendler, the acrylic jewelry designer of some renown, based in Huntington Beach.
My interest is in what happens next. Rudy Enrique is up in his 80s now. Unless he has an heir to carry on the odd family tradition, there's going to be some changes, at last, at 2475 Glendower Place:
gsv jan 2015
More info:
LAT
VICE
I AM NOT A STALKER
My LA Bucket List
the hundreds
the irony supplement
laist
Many more on google. This one's all over the net.
...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
UPDATE:
The house for sale:
http://la.curbed.com/2016/3/29/11322...z-murder-house
The house sold on 18 July 2016 for $2,289,500. MASSES of photos of the now empty house are here:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/24...20809000_zpid/
Gloria Allred's daughter buys the Los Feliz "Murder House":
http://www.latimes.com/business/real...nap-story.html
Pix of the interior before it was emptied:
http://la.curbed.com/2016/4/4/113634...r-house-inside
Prev
. I can think of several occasions when a subject has received much better attention the second time around, and even those that don't can act as a good reminder to topics that have been forgotten. Personally, I have no recollection of knowing the great story of 2475 Glendower Place before today.
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