How do you create a television series about flipping houses and set it apart from all the rest? Several networks are saturated with shows featuring everything from restoring a shell of a structure to flipping old historic mansions, but Roku’s Murder House Flip comes with a special twist. Instead of needing their sanctuaries rid of ghosts, pests and other unwelcome entities, homeowners call up design expert Mikel Welch and builder Sarah Listi to remove the stains of the homes’ horrid past and turn them from morbid into marvelous. Roku has announced that season 2 of Murder House Flip will return along with Welch and Listi as hosts to renovate more dwellings with infamous pasts.
From the executive producers of CSI, Murder House Flip premiered on the Roku channel in May 2021. The home featured in episode 1 formerly belonged to Dorothea Puente, aka the Death House Landlady. In the 1980s, Puente ran her home as a boarding house where she murdered several of her disabled tenants and continued to collect and cash their social security checks. Another home featured was that of child actress Judith Barsi (Jaws: The Revenge), who was shot to death in her bedroom by her father when she was just ten years old in 1988.
The Cast of Murder House Flip Aim to Breathe New Life into Places with a Deadly History
The series synopsis reads:
“An unconventional, home renovation series that takes on the country's most infamous homes: ones known for the mysterious murders within their walls."
True-crime fans who happen to also like home design shows may discover a unique appreciation for this particular series. Although the crimes occurred several years ago, some of the homes still have remnants of tragedy, including blood-stained walls and floors, along with the possibility of discovering bones, murder weapons, or other evidence. Not all homeowners were aware that a crime took place in their home before purchasing it. According to real estate laws in California, real estate agents are not required to disclose that a crime took place in the home unless the potential buyer asks.
Homes to be featured in season 2 will include the house where Jodi Arias murdered Travis Victor Alexander in 2008, the Hyde Park home where The Shield actor Michael Jace shot and killed his wife following a domestic violence report, and the Woodland Hills home where 27-year-old Laura Purviance slew her mother execution-style in 2013. The Alfalfa and Golden State Killer houses will also be featured among the six half-hour episodes, which will stream for free exclusively on the Roku Channel on August 12. There is no telling what home-improvement hosts and crew will find after knocking down walls and digging up floors before bringing some shining glory to these old death houses.