This weekend, a local auction house is selling off the belongings of a couple who with their twin son were murdered. They’re not selling it at the auction house. They’re selling the family’s estate in the same home where they were stabbed to death, allegedly by the other twin.
I had learned of the auction some weeks ago, but only found out where it was taking place after a story ran in my local newspaper this week. The house is located in the suburbs outside Philadelphia.
Here are the details of the slaying, which happened in March, from news reports:
Police arrived at the house around 7 p.m. on March 5 to find Joseph McAndrew Jr., 23, standing outside, his pants and shoes covered with blood. Inside, they found his mother Susan, 64; father Joseph C., 70, and his twin brother James lying dead on the kitchen floor. They had been stabbed repeatedly with an 18-inch samurai-type dagger, according to police. There was some indication that the three had fought for their lives.
When police asked Joseph Jr. what had happened, he said, “Extermination.” When asked who had been exterminated, he said, “person named brother,” “person named mother,” and “person named father.”
Joseph Jr. has been charged with murder in the deaths, and has been confined to a county prison where he is being evaluated.
I had been looking forward to the estate sale – as I do with most of them conducted at homes – because you never know what the family had left behind for us regular auction-goers. I’m always curious to see what I’ll find. Never did I expect a house with such a disturbing history to turn up.
When I read the newspaper story, I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness for the three of them, along with some discomfort at the thought of invading the place where they had so violently died. I would be walking in the kitchen where their bodies had lain and the bedrooms where they had slept (peacefully, I hope) the night before, and traversing the yard that they had crossed hundreds of times.
How would I feel? How would anyone feel who bought the house to live in? This was one of those situations in which full disclosure was indeed necessary. The newspaper article had already publicized it, and the auction house apparently decided to do the right thing, too. I was there this week for a regular auction and overheard an assistant tell another auction-goer that bidders would be told the history of the house that day. I heard one auctioneer refer bidders to the newspaper story.
Earlier, I had talked to another auctioneer about the house. He had been inside, he said, and it was like being in any other house they had readied for a sale. (One auction-house employee told the newspaper that there were no signs of the violence.)
“Unless you’re superstitious,” the auctioneer said encouragingly, “you’ll be okay.”
I grew up in a southern household where superstitious belief was common. Even now, I have family members who still believe. Am I superstitious? I don’t think so. But I am unnerved, and so is my auction buddy Janet. She even suggested that we take some candles with us to the house. For what, I don’t know – unless she thinks they will ward off bad spirits.
Interestingly, I had written a story a week or so ago for the Philadelphia Inquirer about whether or not I bring people’s spirits home with me in the items I buy at auction. I believe that each of us leaves a little of ourselves behind in the things we owned, but I don’t think our spirits hang around once we’re gone.
Janet says she’ll show up for the auction, but she’s not sure if she’ll buy anything. I understand: I’m not sure, either. I still can’t shake this uneasy feeling.
Here’s a description of some of the contents from the website of Barry S. Slosberg Auctioneers, which is conducting the sale:
Real estate: 5+ bedrooms, 5.5 baths (4 living quarters), zoned as a duplex, multi-occupancy home, 2-car garage, situated on 1+ acres. Circa 1947. 3100+ square feet of living space, outer buildings with over-sized shed (drive-in). Colonial style with stucco, rear deck, ample on-site parking for 10+ vehicles.
Contents: 5 cars, including a 2000 Toyota Sienna and 2004 Honda Accord, a Honda Helix scooter and 2 trailers. Tiller, gas blower, gas trimmers, snow blower, lawn tractor, window air conditioner, hand and power tools, linens, furs, clothing, mountain bikes, games, pool table, paint-ball gun and supplies, Fender guitars, banjo, clarinet, glass, china, pots, pans, secretary desk, 2 dining room sets, oak serpentine chest, contemporary Chifferobe , highboy, computers, flat-panel TVs up to 42″, gas grill, ladders, costume and other jewelry.
