Abandoned house demolished

[In da Middle]

Well I don't claim to know and I'm sure the laws are different in Missouri than I am used to. But I can recall when I was working in City government a home that was unsafe. We had to send several letters certified mail, and then the Bldg. Commissioner had to get a court order to demolish the house before we could do it.

So I find this a real shock.

He has basically been warned for years. This is not something that just happened overnight. This house has been in a state of dire disrepair for a very long time and he has chosen not to take care of it. If the site I have access to was public, I could link you to even more the city has done to warn him. All of the press basically advertising this house for the lookie-loo's just expedited the process. This place was in danger of falling in on itself then the OWNER would be responsible for any injuries if somebody was camped out in it and got hurt or worse. He really should be glad it got done so fast IMO. The collector website is down but my money is that he is also not paying them either JMO.

 

[In da Middle]

I imagine the house was not an asset but a liability to the owner if it was in such poor shape. The owner was perhaps dragging their feet in having it taken down. Demolition with heavy equipment is a poor way to search for evidence so I hope LE is confident nothing was there.

I am sure it was evident that nobody had been in it for quite some time or I am sure they wouldn't have demo'd it. It was in such disrepair they were taking a huge liability just entering it.

 

[AnaTeresa]

There sure are alot of odd coincidences between this case and the Zahra Baker case, aren't there? Mulch fire/dumpster fire , 2 houses demolished, front of Baker house very similar to Irwin house, single large tree in front of both houses, clueless father , etc. etc. Not that any of it means anything, but it's eery none the less.

I'm just happy there's not a wood chipper. But yes, there are a lot of similarities. I didn't even realize.

 

[In da Middle]

I am also very sure this house would have been demolished very soon as they are demolishing quite a few houses along that area due to widening N Brighton. They have already demolished 4-8 just to the north of it (all of the houses immediate south of Russell Rd - 1-2 blocks north of this house). He HAD to have known. There is no way. I know a person who's house is right there who's house is on the list but I don't know when their move-out date is but it is in the very near future and it is not dilapidated at all, just an eminate domain situation. end of story.

 

[In da Middle]

He may have given permission. It was a liability to him,especially if he wasn't carrying insurance on it.

I would say it is safe to assume here that he did not carry insurance on it as no insurance would carry it or they would be fools.

 

[Codger]

I totally get why the house needed to come down.

I just think the timing is unbelievably weird.

So many things in this case, timing-wise, are weird.

I get the need for it, not the way it was done - today. Who would know about that cistern, so old + well hidden back there, aside from the owner? Only people I can think of would be those perusing lot maps, who know property details + maybe are looking for violations in an effort to get it torn down. Possibly it's been a PIA so far + they've been delayed + unable to get it done. So, they take advantage of the situation - what better hiding spot to convince folks of? Knowing once the search in a case like this starts, they'll immediately have their "emergency situation" fulfilled, so they can doze it without any loopholes.

There is no way in tarnation any sort of thorough search of the property was able to be conducted. In that entire ramshackle place + grounds, the only spot there might be evidence, is under the deck in a cistern next to nobody probably knew about? Seriously? Right. If they really thought a single trace of evidence might be anywhere nearby, would they demolish it immediately after searching one little hidey hole? I think not, when a baby is missing.

IOW - I don't think today's show had a thing to do with baby Lisa. If it was a last minute - this place is scheduled to be torn down today, do we want to look at it first? - then I have no doubt LE could have gotten all the time they wanted. It would still be an "emergency situation" no matter how long they searched it first.

That's MOO!

 

[In da Middle]

Poor old house stood proudly for years, then had attention called to it, then the next thing you know - gone!

No. Thanks to this owner it has not been proud for many years. Nowhere near it. Poor house.

 

[illinialum]

When finding a source for Mr. Kath today, I initially spoke with someone from Property Preservation who told me some details surrounding the property that was demolished. He didn't reveal anything surprising, but still, I'm not sure how much I can say in a public forum. So, I will say this: I do not believe the owner's claim that the City has not contacted him. I believe that they have been trying to get a hold of this man, but he has not responded. I'm not completely sure, but I got the impression that they've been trying to contact him for longer than just the past day.

Mods: Please feel free to delete my above comment if it conflicts with WS rules. I know the above info isn't from MSM, and instead from a personal conversation, so I understand if this isn't acceptable.

In addition, the person told me that the interior of the house was a mess and very unsafe. Pretty much consistent with descriptions other sleuthers have already posted.

My opinion: I think the City has been trying to tear this house down for a long time, but ran into a lot of snags with the owner. With all the media attention on the house, they probably realized that there would be residents/media/people who would complain about why the City isn't taking care of dangerous houses, so the City hurried to demolish the house. I'm hoping they preserved any potential evidence. They do a good job (maybe I'm biased), but I'm confident they did everything correctly.

I also think that this house probably has nothing to do with Lisa's disappearance.

All right, I'm signing off WS for the night. I'm praying for good news over night or tomorrow.

 

[In da Middle]

I would bet that the owner was hoping to be able to sell the home without revealing that there was an old well under the deck. Once it was all over the news that the well was being searched, the gig was up. it probably costs a lot of money to fill and secure an old well. Combined with any cosmetic repairs he'd have to make to sell the home, I doubt the owner would see any profit. MOO

Another thought about that house is that it would be a likely place to find stray momma cat with a litter of kittens. We still don't know where the kitten came from, do we?

hahaha cosmetic repairs!!! Cosmetic repairs would have been a waste of money. This house was so bad that any repairs would have been a waste of money. This needed to be done.

 

[In da Middle]

I'm just happy there's not a wood chipper. But yes, there are a lot of similarities. I didn't even realize.

But is lacking the evil stepmonster. Very big difference.

 

[illinialum]

He has basically been warned for years. This is not something that just happened overnight. This house has been in a state of dire disrepair for a very long time and he has chosen not to take care of it. If the site I have access to was public, I could link you to even more the city has done to warn him. All of the press basically advertising this house for the lookie-loo's just expedited the process. This place was in danger of falling in on itself then the OWNER would be responsible for any injuries if somebody was camped out in it and got hurt or worse. He really should be glad it got done so fast IMO. The collector website is down but my money is that he is also not paying them either JMO.

I agree with this.

 

[In da Middle]

I get the need for it, not the way it was done - today. Who would know about that cistern, so old + well hidden back there, aside from the owner?

SBM
renters, neighbors, former owners, etc. This house was built in the 30's. Lots of people probably know or somebody may have said 'hey, remember when we built that deck over that cistern?'...

 

[tlcya]

I'm just happy there's not a wood chipper. But yes, there are a lot of similarities. I didn't even realize.

(ETA just jumping off the discussion between you and MK)

I had not even considered it as close to the other case in similar circumstances but in those aspects, they are similar.

I don't know that I would describe Jeremy as clueless, he seems to have been more present and involved in the day to day, at least I haven't yet heard otherwise. He does have a rather "tentative" demeanor on camera thought, doesn't he?

Anywho, I hadn't even considered the house demo thing and connect it with the fact I have seen it in a case before. I think the dumpster fire was deliberately set. I just don't know if it relates to baby Lisa's case.

 

[nanny2five]

Dang near about as odd a tangent as I can muster - but wasn't BTK a code enforcement officer for some jurisdication near KCMO?

in wichita kansas, marycarney

 

[In da Middle]

When finding a source for Mr. Kath today, I initially spoke with someone from Property Preservation who told me some details surrounding the property that was demolished. He didn't reveal anything surprising, but still, I'm not sure how much I can say in a public forum. So, I will say this: I do not believe the owner's claim that the City has not contacted him. I believe that they have been trying to get a hold of this man, but he has not responded. I'm not completely sure, but I got the impression that they've been trying to contact him for longer than just the past day.

Mods: Please feel free to delete my above comment if it conflicts with WS rules. I know the above info isn't from MSM, and instead from a personal conversation, so I understand if this isn't acceptable.

In addition, the person told me that the interior of the house was a mess and very unsafe. Pretty much consistent with descriptions other sleuthers have already posted.

My opinion: I think the City has been trying to tear this house down for a long time, but ran into a lot of snags with the owner. With all the media attention on the house, they probably realized that there would be residents/media/people who would complain about why the City isn't taking care of dangerous houses, so the City hurried to demolish the house. I'm hoping they preserved any potential evidence. They do a good job (maybe I'm biased), but I'm confident they did everything correctly.

I also think that this house probably has nothing to do with Lisa's disappearance.

All right, I'm signing off WS for the night. I'm praying for good news over night or tomorrow.

Could possibly get some clarification on the Eminent domain situation for these homes for the N Brighton widening project for me? How far down on the street is affected.

 

[Wendy101]

Spokesperson for the Lisa Irwin family about to speak to press. Watch live on NBCActionNews.com
http://www.nbcactionnews.com/generic/news/News_LiveVideo

 

[illinialum]

Could possibly get some clarification on the Eminent domain situation for these homes for the N Brighton widening project for me? How far down on the street is affected.

I'm a little confused by your question. Can you please clarify? My brain is fried from a busy day

 

[Jacie Estes]

SBM
renters, neighbors, former owners, etc. This house was built in the 30's. Lots of people probably know or somebody may have said 'hey, remember when we built that deck over that cistern?'...

Or a homeless handyman looking to salvage anything for cash. Copper pipes.

 

[Jacie Estes]

I totally get why the house needed to come down.


I just think the timing is unbelievably weird.




So many things in this case, timing-wise, are weird.

All of the lE/Fire/Emt that were there plus BIG trucks; won't have another scenario for any problems that might occur. If homeless/tweakers were smoking in there, there would be contamination. I think the owner was given chances, he didn't take them and now everybody knows about his house.

 

[Jacie Estes]

Could possibly get some clarification on the Eminent domain situation for these homes for the N Brighton widening project for me? How far down on the street is affected.

Street widening, house/property would have been taken by KCMO anyway?