LA CROSSE COUNTY, Wis. (WTAQ) - A very nice house is up for sale in rural La Crosse County with one little concern – it was the site of a double murder last year.
Dennis and Merna Koula’s home in the town of Barre went up for sale Monday, with an asking price of $425,000. The house has 2 fireplaces, 4 bedrooms, and a large deck among other luxuries.
Eric Koula is charged with killing his parents there last May 21st, allegedly to try and get their money. He’s scheduled to go on trial in July.
Terry Collins, a lawyer for the parents’ estate, says home sellers are required to provide “substantially relevant facts” about a property – and he believes the double murder will be disclosed.
Wright State professor James Larsen tells the La Crosse Tribune that the Koulas’ house will sell – but it might take awhile. He studied 102 stigmatized houses in Ohio in 2000. He found that the sale prices were 3 percent less than other similar properties. And they took 45 percent longer to sell.
Much more notorious homes have sold, like those owned by Nicole Brown Simpson. But an appraiser cited by Larsen said it normally takes 5 to 7 years for a home’s criminal reputation to diminish.


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