USA · CBS News
Murder at Tennessee Mansion Fuels 'Cursed' Legend
In September 2022, Mike Harding, a California HVAC contractor, vanished in the lake country on the Kentucky‑Tennessee border, only to be found dead in a vacant mansion in Burkesville, Kentucky. The body, recovered by a local family searching the property, showed four gunshot wounds and had a distinctive Hornady Critical Defense shell casing left behind. Investigators determined Harding had been lured by a purported realtor named James Fraser, who was likely a fabrication, as no such person was found. Sheriff Brandon Boone of Clay County and Cumberland County officials coordinated the investigation, with Detective BJ Burton leading the probe and noting the scene suggested a professional hit. Harding’s wife, Julie, a California Highway Patrol captain, repeatedly contacted Kentucky and Tennessee authorities for updates, ultimately visiting the sheriff’s office in person to demand answers. The case has reignited local lore of the property as a cursed mansion, with residents and visitors citing eerie sightings and unexplained phenomena. Families of the victim, including son Steven and sister Heather, expressed profound grief, while authorities continue to pursue leads on the alleged realtor and the motive behind the killing.
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