Murder At My House

From 1970 until 1993, my house on Gaston Avenue was hippy commune. Really. At one time 45 people lived in the house. It's all documented in a 1987 Dallas Morning News feature article about the commune. That article gave me a glimpse into all kinds of chanting and chacra finding that went on inside my house. I've also asked my 86-year-old next door neighbor George, who's lived next door since 1948, about the doings of the hippies.

George said that he remembers --- oh it must have been around 1979 or 1980 --- that he woke up early one weekend morning and there were all kinds of Dallas Police squad cars outside my house. He says the owners of the house were gone that weekend. And one guy had apparently overdosed on something and died in the garage apartment behind the house.

I decided to check that story out. George is partly right. Somebody did die in the garage apartment. But it happened in 1986 according to the Dallas Morning News. And the guy didn't OD. He was strangled.

"Homicide investigator P.E. Jones said police were called to the XX block of Gaston Avenue about 11:22 a.m. Sunday after a tenant (more precisely, "a hippy") reported a broken window inside a garage apartment," according to an article in the Morning News. "Police said the apartment was used by the owner of the property, who had been away since 5:30 p.m. Saturday and is not considered a suspect."

"Police said the victim, who did yard work for the property owner, was last seen about 8:30 p.m. Saturday in the 4600 block of Ross Avenue."

"Police would not disclose details of the strangulation pending further investigation."

I don't know if the police ever solved the crime or what the victim's name is.

But the garage apartment was torn down long before we moved into the house three years ago. I used to wish the garage was still there so I'd have a place to put my car. Now I feel differently.