A stately mansion in a cozy Los Angeles suburb has repeatedly landed on the market over the past few decades, and even its buyers don’t want to live in it because of its sordid history.
At first glance, 2475 Glendower Place appears to be nothing more than another expensive home in the hillside community of Los Feliz. It has five bedrooms and four bedrooms spread over more than 5,000 square feet.
The estate has changed hands repeatedly over the past decades. Every time a new buyer bought it, he would leave it empty before finally deciding to sell it again.
As it remained unoccupied for more than six decades, the house began to deteriorate. The yellowed wooden staircase, visible through an arched glass window, is only evidence of its deterioration. Even today, the current owner does not occupy the premises after having tried unsuccessfully to sell it in 2022.
All because it was the site of a terrible murder in 1959, where a husband beat his wife to death with a hammer.
2475 Glendower Place in Los Angeles has changed hands repeatedly over the past few decades and remains empty even after being sold.
The estate has five bedrooms and four bedrooms on more than 5,000 square feet.
It was the site of a horrific murder in 1959, where a husband beat his wife to death with a ball peen hammer.
Despite presenting itself as a bargain amid soaring home prices, the property’s nearly century-long history is marked with blood. Built in 1925, the mansion was located deep in Los Feliz Heights, an up-and-coming development that catered to the wealthy.
Its first owners were a couple named Harold and Florence Schumacher. The estate served as the family home until the couple’s deaths within weeks of each other in 1928.
Two years later, magazine editor Welford Beaton and his son Donald moved into the house.
But Donald soon succumbed to an infection and died at just 21 years old. Welford left the house and declared bankruptcy the following year.
The story took a dark turn in 1956, when doctor Harold Perelson, his wife Lillian and their three children, Judy, Joel and Debbie, moved there.
Despite the extravagant purchase, Harold’s medical practice was drowning in debt. In a letter to a relative, 18-year-old Judy alluded that the family’s financial difficulties had caused problems between her parents.
These tensions came to a head on the morning of December 6, 1959, when Harold struck Lillian with a hammer while she was sleeping, killing her.
The house was built in 1925 as part of Los Feliz Heights, an up-and-coming development aimed at the wealthy.
Doctor Harold Perelson, his wife Lillian, and the couple’s three children moved into the house in 1956, marking the beginning of its dark history.
In December 1959, Harold beat his wife to death before attempting to murder their 18-year-old daughter, Judy.
Judy (who also spelled her name ‘Judye’), in the center, screamed and woke up her younger sister. Harold reportedly told the girl: “Go back to bed, baby, this is just a nightmare.”
He then went to Judy’s bedroom and attacked her. Judy’s screams woke up her younger sister, Debbie, who later told police that her father had assured her, “Go back to bed, honey, this is just a nightmare.”
Thirteen-year-old Joel was the next to wake up. Taking advantage of the distraction, Judy fled to a neighbor’s house across the street.
That neighbor, Marshal Ross, tended to Judy’s wounds before calling the police and walking to the Perelson property. He found Debbie and Joel “dazed” but unharmed and urged them to meet his sister at her house.
Ross met Harold on the second floor and told him to go to bed before going to Lillian’s room.
When the police arrived, Harold was dead. He had swallowed 31 pentobarbital tablets and suffered an overdose.
Medical records show the father of three had spent a week in a psychiatric hospital just a year earlier. There he was administered chlorpromazine, an antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia.
Newspaper clippings from the time claim that the doctor killed his wife and himself in a “nightmarish frenzy” and attributed the murderous outburst to his money problems.
Just a year later, the house was purchased by Emily and Julián Enríquez, who owned it for decades.
Julian died in 1973 and Emily passed away in 1994. The house was then passed to their son, Rudy. However, it appears that none of the family members lived there.
The estate became the subject of media attention in 2009, when the LA Times coined it ‘Los Feliz Murder Mansion’, a nickname still in use today.
It became a popular item among YouTubers and ghost hunters in the following decades. Hundreds of people broke into the house while Rudy still owned it, and some even took souvenirs: old magazines, a military jacket, and the like.
The house was purchased by Emily and Julián Enríquez just a year after Harold killed his wife and then himself. The property passed to his son, Rudy, after his death, but remained empty.
The LA Times coined the house ‘Los Feliz Murder Mansion’ in 2009, sparking renewed interest and sending hundreds of trespassers to the property.
Attorney Lisa Bloom, best known for representing Harvey Weinstein, purchased the mansion in 2016 with her husband. The couple began renovations on the house but never finished them.
It was last sold in 2020 to real estate developer Ephi Zlotnitsky, who never appears to have lived in the house. He tried unsuccessfully to sell it in 2022.
The house was put up for sale again and officially changed ownership in 2016, when attorney Lisa Bloom and her husband closed on the purchase for $2.3 million.
Bloom, best known for representing disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, promised to renovate the property. The interior was dismantled, but the couple was unable to move forward with their plans due to permit issues.
In 2020, the property was sold to real estate developer Ephi Zlotnitsky for $2.35. Zlotnitsky has never spoken to the press and appears to have left the house empty himself.
There has been renewed interest in 2475 Glendower Place in recent years, including a 2022 feature in the Netflix series ‘Buying Beverly Hills.’
In that episode, The Agency’s agent Jon Grauman and agent Brandon Graves met with architect Richard Landry to discuss their plans to remodel the house.
“It’s going to take a lot of work to remove that stain and transform it into something new,” Grauman said of the home’s “infamous past.”
He promised that the renovated house would be “one of the most spectacular homes not only in Los Feliz but on the east side of Los Angeles.”
However, these grand promises came to nothing: after being listed for $5.5 million and failing to attract a buyer, the mansion was taken off the market in November.
Surprisingly, it is not the only “murder house” in the neighborhood.
It was at 3311 Waverly Drive, about a mile and a half away, where Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in the early hours of August 10, 1969.
The couple was sleeping when members of the Manson family entered their home and murdered them both.
Property records show the home was last sold in July 2021 for $1,875,000.
