From a May 28 posting on Craigslist.org:
$300 / 1br – special tenant needed…
Okay I’m just going to be very frank about this. I have a basement apartment for rent that still has residual bloodstains on one wall and in the grout of the bathroom due to the murder/suicide of the previous tenants. I have paid three separate “cleaning specialists” to come in and get rid of these stains, and they are much better, believe me, but they are still there. The bottom line is I can’t wait any longer to rent out this apartment and I’m seeking a tenant who doesn’t mind living with blood splatter marks on the wall. I realize this sounds awful but I see no other choice but to be honest about this and hope that there will be one person out there who doesn’t mind or maybe is even used to living with blood stains on their walls. Obviously, in a situation like this my options are limited, so I’m willing to rent out on a month-to-month basis, and am not requiring a security deposit. By the same token, please be aware that I am trying to sell this property so that I may return to Kansas. Email me if you are interested. Thank you.
this is in or around anacostia
—submitted by Kerry Miller
Art accompanying story in the printed newspaper is not available in this archive: Illustration by Tom Deja.