2.1 ACRE SITE COULD FETCH UPWARDS OF $900,000

Oct. 31. By Dave Yochum. The nightmare on Bethel Church Road might be over. Officials in Town Hall say the scariest house in town could be torn down in a matter of months if probate moves along.

FRONT DOOR WAS BOARDED UP

It’s the house that Stanley Morgan built before personal issues made him a virtual prisoner in his own 4,000 square foot brick home.

Morgan may have been dead for three or four months—neighbors say six months—before his badly decomposed body was taken out in a body bag in 2016. The house on the corner of Bethel and Havenview had fallen into serious disrepair years before. It has deteriorated since then.

Cornelius Planning Director Wayne Herron has been inside the once-beautiful home that was built by Morgan in 1988. The structure appears sound, but it’s almost certain the two-story house will be torn down in a matter of a few months to make way for four new homes.

The house and land are assessed at $526,900. The land alone—a full two acres—is valued at $225,000.

CLASSIC STUDEBAKER IN THE CARPORT

But the property could fetch $900,000 to $1 million based on the value of subdividing the lot in a prime neighborhood surrounded by waterfront homes, as well as interest from builders, Herron said.

Herron said the house very nearly came out of probate—and available for sale—until Morgan’s father passed away. It meant months of delay for an eyesore and attractive nuisance that has almost certainly affected adjacent property values.

The tragedy of course is that a man in the prime of his life descended into mental illness. 

GHOSTS HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR

Morgan was born in Rowan County in 1953. His parents were Fred and Druscilla Morgan. He graduated from Shelby High School in 1971 and was a member of the marching band before going to UNC-Chapel Hill. He graduated in 1975 with a BS in Business Administration.

Druscilla passed away in South Carolina shortly after her son died. His father went into assisted living, adding complexity to a difficult family situation.

Stanley Morgan’s obituary said he was the owner of SNM Enterprises, but it does not show up in North Carolina corporation records. Neighbors say he held a U.S. Patent, but none could be found in his name.

Hn was clearly a troubled man, with arrests dating back to 2007. On Feb. 16, 2007 he was arrested by Cornelius Police for driving while impaired and having a concealed weapon; in 2008 for carrying a concealed weapon and resisting an officer; again in 2008 for trying to hit an officer with a metal pipe; in 2012 for disorderly conduct and communicating threats; and again in 2012 for communicating threats and disorderly conduct at 19815 North Cove Road, the address of the Harris Teeter.

YES, THERE WAS A MYSTERIOUS LIGHT IN THIS 2017 PHOTO

Ultimately, he became the kind of person no one missed.

Neighbors said on Feb. 24, 2016 police “stormed into the home with full-on weapons and found him dead” in the house he built at age 35. His mother died six weeks later.

Proceeds from the sale of the house will help pay for his late father’s hospital bill. Morgan, who died at age 62, had no children.

THE PROPERTY, OUTLINED IN GREEN, AT THE CORNER OF HAVENVIEW AND BETHEL CHURCH