The Murder Still Haunting Boise, Idaho | The Boise Murder House| True Crime

On June 30th, 1987, one of Boise, Idaho’s most haunting urban legends was born. Unfortunately, the root of this legend is a real-life horrific crime that still haunts the city to this day.

After getting into a fight at a funeral on June 29th, 21-year-old Preston Murr received an odd phone call. The anonymous caller threatened Preston, which he reported to the police. As with most anonymous harassment calls, the police could not help him. He decided to take things into his own hands.

Preston called a friend of his named Daniel Rodgers. He believed that 37-year-old Rodgers could help him discover more about the anonymous caller. The pair met up at a local gas station along with 31-year-old Daron Cox.

The three men went back to Murr’s apartment. While discussing Preston’s mysterious call, they began discussing Rodger’s guns, which had supposedly been stolen. This led to another mission. They transitioned into searching for the missing guns. Inevitably, they were unable to locate the guns and went back to Rodger’s house. The situation devolved quickly from there.

At some point, an argument broke out between Preston, Rodgers, and Cox, resulting in Preston being shot in the shoulder. Preston then fled the house and ran to a neighbor’s house, where he began banging on the door.

Scared, the neighbor did not open the door. Instead, he called 911 and described the scene to the dispatcher. He watched as Preston was chased down the street. When the man peeked out his door, he noticed blood on his screen door.

Police never arrived, and Preston was dragged back into Rodger’s house. In the basement of that house, Preston met his untimely demise. He was shot in the head and then dismembered into 13 pieces. Rodgers and Cox then wrapped the pieces in plastic bags and drove to the Brownlee Reservoir, over 100 miles away.

The following day, the same neighbor called the authorities again. He was told that they had not responded to the scene. The police came to investigate after the second call. Blood was found on another neighbor’s door and throughout the neighborhood. After obtaining a search warrant, police quickly discovered the grizzly scene in the basement.

It wouldn’t be until 10 days later that parts of Preston’s body were discovered at Brownlee Reservoir.

Ultimately, Daniel Rodgers was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Daron Cox reportedly cooperated with police and received a much lighter sentence. He was convicted only of being an accomplice to murder and spent six years in prison.

After the murder, locally, the house became known as the “Boise Murder House” or the “Chop Chop House” in reference to the dismemberment of Preston Murr’s body. Stories spread about what it was like inside the home. It became a popular rental for college students in the area, which propelled the lore to a new level. Frat brothers claimed that there was blood dripping from the walls of the basement. Many others have claimed the basement feels “off”. Some former residents of the home have stated that they would take friends to the basement solely to frighten them.

One person also reported hearing someone knocking on the door. When he went out to investigate, no one was there, but he saw something he described as a “big black oily looking thing.” He claimed that he saw it inside a window in the house.

The story of the Boise Murder House is alive today. People try to visit the home out of morbid curiosity. Some paranormal groups are interested in investigating the house. In May of 2024, tours and other events were held at the house. It is unclear if this continues or if the house stands empty today.

Would you tour the Boise Murder House? What local lore does your city have?

Sources:

Sources: 

https://idahonews.com/news/local/murder-house-is-site-of-decades-old-crime-scene-haunted

https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/a41059891/boise-murder-house/

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/idaho/murder-house-id

https://www.idahoarchitectureproject.org/properties/chop-chop-house/

https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/nation-world/the-murder-house-is-site-of-decades-old-murder-haunted-11-17-2015

https://the-line-up.com/murder-of-preston-murr

https://www.facebook.com/idahistory/posts/996418715356678?ref=embed_post

https://liteonline.com/murder-house-tours/

https://www.andthatswhywedrink.com/listen/e497