Hard Rock Cafe co-founder lists Trousdale home with a murderous past

Peter Morton, who is marketing the home as a teardown, bought it nearly a decade after a gruesome stabbing there

Peter Morton and his home (Credit: Wikipedia)
Peter Morton and his home (Credit: Wikipedia)

The home in the exclusive Trousdale Estates has a dark past, one that includes a brutal knife-slaying and allegations of pornography and prostitution. And now Peter Morton wants nothing to do with it.

The Hard Rock Cafe co-founder has listed the property all its memories as a $15.5 million teardown, according to Variety.

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Before Morton paid $13.5 million for the home last year, it belonged to Japanese film producer Fuminori Hayashida. But he hasn’t lived there since his son, Katsutoshi “Tony” Takazato, was stabbed 58 times at the home in July 2010, by his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend. The killer, who was convicted two years later, claimed 21-year-old Takazato had forced the woman into prostitution and pornography.

The home spans 5,240 square feet, and has four bedrooms and six bathrooms. The property, built in 1964, also comes equipped with renderings for a 16,000-square-foot spec mansion, designed by Space International.

Morton has amassed a hefty real estate portfolio in L.A. over the years. Most prominently, he holds the record for the priciest sale in the county. His son, Harry Morton, has also gotten in the game. He recently paid $25 million to acquire a home where Elvis Presley — and the elder Morton himself — once lived. [Variety]Natalie Hoberman