A storage unit is a rented space where people can put their excess junk if they don’t have any available space left in their homes. If that person fails to pay the rent for some reason, the items inside the storage space are auctioned off to people who are hoping to find valuable items that they can sell, much like in the reality TV show, “Storage Wars.”
Occasionally, people may find valuable items like antique paintings and priceless statues. However, there are times when people find things inside that are downright horrifying.
Remains of a mother and her two children
A person named George Gennai won a storage unit auction and was very curious to see what items were left inside by the owner. He was pretty sure that he would find valuable items inside the unit because of the fact that the storage space was rented for 12 years.
While looking through a pile of clothes inside the storage unit, he found something that was wrapped in landscaping plastic. When he peeled off the plastic, he was horrified to see remains of a human body. Gennai then called the police to report his disturbing find.
Upon examination of the Human Remains, the medical examiners discovered that the remains belong to a woman named Barbara Bender and her two sons, 15-year-old Mark and eight-year-old Brian.
Police also found a bloodied hatchet, which indicated that they were murdered.
Apparently, Bender and her kids were missing since 1980, and the last time they were seen was when they were loading their things into a U-Haul truck, the day after she had filed a divorce from her husband, Mark.
Mark was arrested and admitted to the killings and was sentenced to serve 80 years in prison.
An amputated leg
In South Carolina, the items inside a storage unit were sold to Shannon Whisnant and he was pretty excited about his acquisition because the unit included a barbecue smoker.
However, the excitement he felt quickly turned into horror as he discovered an amputated Leg inside the smoker. He notified the police and even made the local news.
A man named John Wood revealed himself as the owner of the amputated leg. He claimed that he lost his leg in a plane crash when his father was killed. Wood kept the leg so that he could be cremated as a “whole” when he dies.
Wood was forced to sell his possessions due to difficult times but forgot to take his amputated leg from the smoker when it was sold. He demanded to have his leg returned to him, but Whisnant refused and wanted to make more money from his acquisition. Whisnant wanted to turn the barbecue grill into a tourist attraction to earn back his money.
Whisnant and Wood agreed to bring their case to a TV judge, Judge Greg Mathis. The amputated leg was eventually returned to Wood and he was ordered to reimburse Whisnant $5,000.
