Murderous cult’s Brooklyn ‘house of evil’ burns down
A Brooklyn building with a dark history has been reduced to rubble after a two-alarm fire engulfed the four-story Crown Heights rowhouse early on Wednesday morning. The blaze at 222 Brooklyn Ave. took over 100 firefighters to put out, with four firefighters injured in the process. The fire spread to an adjacent residence leaving the facade of No. 222 severely damaged.
The house’s curious past began decades ago when it became known as the “house of evil”. The building was the headquarters of “pastor” Devernon “Doc” LeGrand’s “church”. The exterior of the building was unassuming, but inside, LeGrand, a father to 46 children, would ply teens with drugs and alcohol, seduce them and initiate them into his Brooklyn “commune” where he’d then subject them to sexual abuse. He would keep children locked up in cages, starved and beaten at the building until cops busted LeGrand on child-abuse charges in 1965, according to The Post.
LeGrand was charged with killing his first and second wives. He later went to jail for the double homicide of his 18-year-old daughter-in-law Gladys Stewart and her sister, 16-year-old Yvonne Rivera. LeGrand beat them to death at his church home before having them dismembered and incinerated with paint thinner in an upstate bathtub. LeGrand died in prison in 2006, aged 82.
Police twice dug up the building’s basement in search of missing cult members’ bodies. Following the incident, LeGrand’s children continued to live at the house and sued the city several times for harassment, accusing police of unfairly targeting them due to their family’s disturbing history.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation by FDNY, who have not reported any suspicious findings.
FAQs:
– What is the history of the building at 222 Brooklyn Ave?
The Crown Heights rowhouse had a notorious history as being the headquarters of Devernon “Doc” LeGrand’s “church”. LeGrand would ply teens with drugs and alcohol, seduce them and initiate them into his Brooklyn “commune” where he’d subject them to sexual abuse. He would keep kids in cages, starved and beaten in the building until cops busted LeGrand on child-abuse charges in 1965.
– What happened to Devernon “Doc” LeGrand?
LeGrand was charged with killing his first and second wives. He later went to jail for the double homicide of his 18-year-old daughter-in-law Gladys Stewart and her sister, 16-year-old Yvonne Rivera, whom he beat to death at his church home before having them dismembered and incinerated with paint thinner in an upstate bathtub. LeGrand died in prison in 2006, aged 82.
– Who lived in the building after LeGrand?
LeGrand’s children continued to live at the house and sued the city multiple times for harassment following their father’s death, accusing police of raiding the home and hounding them due to the family’s disturbing history.
Brooklyn’s ‘house of evil’ belonging to a murderous cult destroyed by fire.
A historic Brooklyn building infamous for multiple homicides was consumed by a fire early on Wednesday morning. The four-story Crown Heights rowhouse located at 222 Brooklyn Ave. took over 100 firefighters to extinguish in a two-alarm blaze that began around 5 a.m. The Brooklyn Paper reported that four firefighters were injured while battling the inferno that also spread to an adjacent residence, leaving the charred shell of No. 222’s facade as a haunting reminder of the home’s fiery fate.
The building was once known as the “house of evil” as it served as the headquarters of “pastor” Devernon “Doc” LeGrand’s “church.” LeGrand, a father to 46 children, used to lure and abuse teenagers at the Brooklyn property where he also forced them to panhandle in nun garb. Cops busted LeGrand on child-abuse charges in 1965 and found that the children were kept in cages, starved, and beaten at the building.
LeGrand was charged with killing his two wives, and he was eventually imprisoned for the double homicide of his 18-year-old daughter-in-law, Gladys Stewart, and her sister, 16-year-old Yvonne Rivera, whom he beat to death at his church home before dismembering and incinerating them with paint thinner in an upstate bathtub. LeGrand passed away in prison in 2006 at the age of 82.
Following his death, LeGrand’s children continued to live in the house and sued the city multiple times for harassment, after police raided the property and hounded them due to the family’s disturbing history. Cops have twice dug up the building’s basement in search of the missing members of the cult.
FDNY is currently investigating the cause of the deadly fire that razed the landmarked lodging. However, some members of the community express their relief that the notorious building is no longer standing as it served as a chilling reminder of the atrocities that occurred within its walls.