The 15-room house was built in 1902 by William D. and Clara Chiles and joined by a large barn and other outbuildings on the cemetery adjacent property, which today is located at 2411 East 8th Street and known as Sunrise Farm.
The property remained in the Chiles family until the early 1960s, when the house and about five acres of surrounding land were purchased by Larry Z. McFarland, an anatomy professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis. He lived in the home with his wife, Sonia, and three children, Michael, Kenneth and Nina.
By April 7, 1972, Larry and Sonia McFarland had separated, and Larry McFarland had moved into an apartment at 1521 E. Eighth St., just a few blocks from the house. That day he flew kites with his children and made plans to go fishing the next day with his sons and father-in-law, who lived nearby in El Macero. That night Sonia McFarland put Kenneth, 10, and Nina, 9 — both students at Birch Lane Elementary School — to bed for the night, while Michael, 14, attended his first dance at Holmes Junior High School. She picked him up from the dance at about 10:45 and returned to the Chiles Mansion at about 11 p.m.
The Davis Fire Department received a call at 11:50 p.m., reporting that the Chiles Mansion was totally engulfed in flames. The entire home was gutted before the flames were controlled and firefighters could enter. In the master bedroom, they found the charred bodies of Sonia McFarland and the three children lying face up on a bed, with the body of Larry McFarland, 41, slumped over them. Several of the bodies, including Larry McFarland’s, bore gunshot wounds. An empty gasoline can was found near the front door, along with evidence that fires had been set in four or five locations downstairs.
Investigators found a two-page, eight-paragraph, handwritten note titled “last will and testament” in Larry McFarland’s pickup truck, which was parked nearby. “I am taking the life of myself and my family in the belief that a family should remain together in life or in death,” the note read. Other portions of the note, which had been carefully signed by McFarland on each page, designated McFarland’s mother as the sole beneficiary of his estate and stated that the bodies should be cremated and buried together in Davis Cemetery. The note was dated April 7, 1972.
After a lengthy court process, Mary Bado Simmons, the mother of Sonia McFarland and grandmother of Michael, Kenneth, and Nina, won the ability to not bury their remains with “the murderer.” She also won full legal rights to the property.
The house was never rebuilt. All that remains are the surrounding sidewalks, as well as barns and other outbuildings. Mary Bado Simmons kept the entire property in an undeveloped state as a memorial to her grandchildren, son-in-law, and daughter.
The grounds are still haunted to this day by the ghost of Larry McFarland as well as it’s original owners William D. and Clara Chiles. This property is depressing and the ghosts live in torment.
I grew up across the street from this place, it was always so creepy. I never knew the whole story until now, chilling.
ReplyDeleteI was at my girlfriend's house the night of the fire. When we heard the fire engines we went outside and saw the flames rising up behind the cemetery. We ran across the street and through the cemetery until we reached the fence separating the cemetery from the house property. We had no idea at the time people had died until later. It was a great tragedy for a small town.
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