Michigan Woman Puts Out Halloween Decorations Inspired By Murders That Once Took Place Inside Her House

Amanda Gee sparked outrage from the community in 2021 when she decorated her front lawn for Halloween with decorations commemorating the triple homicide that took place in the home nearly 20 years prior. Gee said the decorations were a way of “getting closure” and “getting back” at the community, whom she claims has bullied her and her kids for years simply because they own the home.

Gee currently lives in the home but rented it out for many years. In 2003, her friend Sharon Siesling rented the place.

The Triple Homicide

On January 22, 2003, shortly after the family moved into the home, 17-year-old Jon Siesling brutally murdered his mother and two young sisters inside their home on Walker Avenue in Kent County, Michigan.

Jon killed his mother by repeatedly striking her with a bat. She attempted to get away, but Jon caught her and slit her throat. He watched his mother take her last breaths, then headed for his 15-year-old sister Katelin and murdered her. His 6-year-old sister Leah was playing in the front yard. She walked inside the home, noticing blood everywhere. Jon grabbed Leah and stabbed her in the neck. When she died, Jon tucked her corpse into her bed.

Jon was taken into custody and found guilty of the murders. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A Place of Morbid Fascination

In the nearly 20-years since the triple homicide, the home has become a tourist hot spot and destination of morbid fascination. For Gee and her family, it’s been a nightmare.

Neighbors were shocked to see the decorations pop up on the lawn in 2021 and believe it was done in poor taste and was disrespectful to the victims.

Three gravestones, caution tape, a baseball bat, and crime scene evidence markers filled the lawn. The front door featured a sign that read “HELP US '' scrawled in fake blood with silhouettes of people who appear trapped inside the home. Blood-soaked handprints spattered across the windows.

Decorations “Hit Close to Home”

One woman who attended school with Sharon said about the incident, “It is just disgusting, especially since this crime hits close to home.”

Amanda Gee understands how “close to home '' hit. Not only was she good friends with Sharon and the owner of the home, but she also helped clean up the blood investigators and clean-up crews. Gee says some blood stuck in corners is still there today because she can't get it out.

Gee said of the display:

“We know some people might look at it and say, ‘Oh my God, oh my God,'” she said. “This is my way of saying, ‘We are well aware. Stop screaming at us when you’re driving past my house’…That family that lived there, that family was our friends. I’m not going to sweep it under the rug and act like it didn’t happen. Leah was a friend of my daughter. We went to their funerals.”

She went on to say she did not mean to offend anyone with the decorations and removed them shortly thereafter.

Jon Siesling Now

Jon Riesling is now 36-years-old and serves his time at the Macomb Correctional Facility. A judge denied his request for a more lenient sentence during his recent resentencing hearing. He promised the court he would not commit any more crimes if released from prison. Kent County Circuit Judge Mark Trusock upheld the life sentence he was originally given.

Resources & Additional Information:

https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/disturbing-halloween-display-at-home-where-teen-violently-killed-his-mother-sisters/69-86f32dbd-76e5-4bd3-a45d-04a7a2d13abf

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2021/09/juvenile-lifer-who-killed-mom-sisters-says-he-wont-commit-any-crimes-if-released.html

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2021/09/nothing-as-horrific-as-this-case-juvenile-lifer-to-stay-locked-up-judge-says.html