Once considered for demolition, the two houses where Rex Krebs committed his crimes still stand, tragic reminders of what happened in rural Avila 10 years ago.
The property, located on Davis Canyon Road, was purchased from owner Muriel Wright by The Nature Conservancy in the summer of 2001.
The conservancy typically buys key open space property so it can later offer it to the state when funds are available, said Josette Olivera, media relations manager for the conservancy. The organization purchased several thousand acres of the Irish Hills area.
The conservancy transferred the land to the state last August, but the state was not interested in the 130 acres that include the crime scenes.
Nick Franco, superintendent of the San Luis Obispo Coast District of state parks, said the state didn't want the structures, which includes a third home -- the house where Wright lived.
"That becomes a pretty big expense for us," he said.
If the state had accepted the extra land, he said, the structures would probably have been demolished.
Since the purchase, the conservancy has fixed up one of the houses -- a formerly unfinished A-frame -- and stripped the home where Krebs lived.
"They're in pretty good condition now," Franco said.
Rachel Newhouse was murdered in the A-frame. Aundria Crawford was murdered at the residence where Krebs lived. Both victims were buried not far from the crime scenes.
The conservancy has not yet decided what to do with the property, Olivera said.
"We're trying to assess that situation," she said.
A caretaker currently lives in the A-frame.
With the land from the Nature Conservancy, the state eventually hopes to build 20 miles of trails from Avila Beach to Montaña de Oro State Park.
-- Patrick S. Pemberton
SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.
Here are some rules of the road:
You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
Be the first to know what's going on in San Luis Obispo County. Just tell us how you want to find out — we'll take care of the rest.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from SanLuisObispo.com and get the latest news sent to your cell phone via text message.
By signing up for alerts from this site, you are signing up for a program that may include up to 5 SMS text alert(s) per alert category per day. There is no service fee charged per month but your carrier's standard text messaging and other charges may apply. You may stop this subscription service at any time by sending the text message "STOP" to 72737. You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use our alert services. If you are between 13 and 17 years old, you agree that you have received parental permission both to complete the registration process and to receive SMS content on your cell phone. For help, send the text message "HELP" to 72737. This service will work with ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Alltell, US Cellular, Cincinnati Bell, Boost, Virgin Mobile USA, Celluar South, Telos, Centennial, East Kentucky Network, Cellcom, Immix and Rural Celluar.
E-mail »
Twitter »
Facebook »
iTribune »
Subscribe »
RSS »
About comments
Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.