Man's murder, wife's death feed into local legend of "cursed" mansion
When Mike Harding, a California transplant, spotted a majestic mansion in Celina, Tennessee, he thought he'd found the dream retirement home for himself and his wife, Julie. But those dreams ended abruptly when Mike suddenly went missing in 2022.
In September 2022, Mike Harding, a California resident who had recently moved to Kentucky, disappeared without a trace. His wife, Julie Harding, a California Highway Patrol captain, began urgently contacting Kentucky authorities for information. Sheriff Brandon Boone of Clay County, Tennessee, was leading the missing person's investigation. Julie Harding herself traveled to Tennessee to plead her case in person, apologizing for her behavior during the initial interaction.
Meanwhile, David Hammersley and his family were house hunting in Burkesville, Kentucky, when they visited a vacant three-building property. Inside one building, David Hammersley heard an awful screech and found Mike Harding's dead body, shot four times, two times in the torso and twice in the head. The crime scene had been ransacked, with the murder weapon and evidence removed.
The case was later connected to James Fraser, a realtor who had contacted Mike Harding about inspecting the property. The investigation revealed that the realtor was a fake persona created to lure Mike Harding to his murder.
Written by urgent.news from CBS News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
