He Bought a Home. Then He Learned Someone Was Killed on His Front Porch.

When Chad Long purchased his home at 510 S Warren Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, he believed he knew what he was buying.

Like most homebuyers, he researched the property, completed the purchase, and looked forward to making the house his home.

What he didn’t know was that years earlier, a man had been fatally stabbed on the property’s front porch.

No one told him before he bought the home.

He only learned about the tragedy after moving in, when a local historian contacted him.

“I was shocked to find out this brutal incident happened on my porch.”

That discovery led Chad to ask a question that thousands of homebuyers have debated for years:

Should a violent death connected to a property—even if it happened outside the home—be disclosed before someone buys it?

A Local Historian Revealed the Home’s Past

According to Chad, the information came from a local historian whose family spent decades documenting Columbus neighborhoods.

“The historian is a local lady whose parents worked documenting the area for historical reasons back in the 1980s. They photographed the entire area to make documentation to keep the historic details, but the area fell into decline in the 1990s and has been making a comeback.”

Then she shared something Chad never expected to hear.

Years before he moved in, a man had been killed on the front porch of the home.

 

We Ran a DiedinHouse.com Report

After Chad reached out to us, we decided to independently research the property.

Using the address he provided, we generated a DiedinHouse.com Property History Report.

Sure enough, the homicide appeared in the report.

The incident had already been documented through publicly available historical records and was included in our property history database. DiedinHouse.com compiles information from numerous public sources to help homebuyers, renters, real estate professionals, and homeowners better understand a property’s history before making important decisions.

For Chad, it confirmed that what he had learned wasn’t simply neighborhood folklore.

It was part of the documented history of the property.

That moment also reinforced why researching a property’s history can be just as important as a home inspection or title search.

A Documented Homicide

Historical homicide records maintained by the Columbus Division of Police confirm that a homicide occurred at Chad’s address in 2003. The city maintains historical homicide information as part of its public records program.

Chad also recalls reading historical news coverage stating that the suspect fled through a nearby alley before eventually being apprehended and later convicted after a court process lasting approximately three years. While DiedinHouse.com has verified that a homicide occurred at the property, we have not independently verified every detail of the criminal proceedings described in historical news reports.

“Now You Can’t Help But Think About It”

Learning about the homicide didn’t make Chad want to move.

But it permanently changed how he experiences his home.

“Had the murder happened inside and not just on the porch I probably would have passed on the house. It would just feel ominous living there.”

He added:

“I do sit on the porch and think about it once I learned about it because now you can’t help but think about some guy getting stabbed trying to get into the house away from another person.”

Nothing about the home physically changed.

Only Chad’s understanding of its history.

Should Buyers Be Told?

We asked Chad whether he believes buyers should be informed when a violent crime has occurred on a property.

His response was immediate.

“I 100 percent think it should be disclosed no matter what.”

Interestingly, he isn’t convinced it would have changed his decision to purchase the house.

“I don’t know that it would have changed my mind, but it certainly would have been nice to know in advance.”

That distinction is important.

For many buyers, disclosure isn’t necessarily about walking away from a deal.

It’s about having the opportunity to make an informed decision.

Another Tragedy on South Warren Avenue

While researching Chad’s story, we discovered another tragic event that occurred on the same street.

In November 2024, Columbus police responded to a different residence in the 60 block of South Warren Avenue, where two men and one woman were found deceased inside the home. Authorities later said the deaths appeared to be suspected overdoses, although detectives investigated the circumstances. The Franklin County Coroner identified the victims as Kaitlyn Christian, Phillip Stump, and George Bennett. Police have never indicated that incident was connected to the homicide associated with Chad’s property.

The two tragedies occurred at different homes and involved completely separate investigations.

Still, they serve as a reminder that every neighborhood has a history, and many buyers want to understand both the history of the property they’re purchasing and the surrounding community.

What Does Ohio Law Say?

Ohio law does not specifically require a seller to disclose that a homicide, suicide, or other death occurred at a property solely because of the death itself. Disclosure requirements generally focus on known material defects affecting the physical condition of the property. Buyers interested in a property’s history often conduct independent research or use specialized property history services before making a purchase.

Every Home Has a Story

A home inspection can uncover foundation issues.

A title search can identify ownership concerns.

Neither is designed to reveal whether a tragedy occurred on the property years—or even decades, earlier.

For some buyers, that history won’t matter.

For others, it could influence one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.

For Chad Long, discovering that someone had been killed on the front porch of his home didn’t make him regret buying it.

But it did change how he sees the place he calls home.

His experience raises an important question:

If someone lost their life on the property you were about to buy, would you want to know before signing the closing papers?

About DiedinHouse.com

DiedinHouse.com helps homebuyers, renters, real estate professionals, and homeowners uncover publicly available historical information associated with residential properties. From deaths and fires to methamphetamine contamination and other stigmatizing events, property history can provide valuable context that may not surface during a traditional real estate transaction.