The House on Lake Atlin Ave

 

Directly across the street from Cleveland Elementary was 6356 Lake Atlin Ave. It was a normal family home painted light brown with white trim. The one story, three-bedroom house with a two-car garage and ample off-street parking, was built in 1959, about the same time as the school.

The house was owned by single father Wallace “Wally” Spencer, who had been divorced about eight years. He lived her with Brenda, his youngest, a junior at Patrick Henry High School, the other her older brother Scott.

Just inside the door on the entrance tiles were scattered cartridge casings and little else. The police report listed them as 36 empty cartridge casings and two live rounds in an area about 7 by 6 feet.

“Entrance way was slightly wider than it was deep and was a beige color tile,” said Det. Thwing. Just outside of the entryway were the white folding knife and hunting knife sitting next to a small bottle of Southern Comfort.

To detectives, the folding knife looked to be for filleting or gutting fish and the hunting knife was dark with a brown leather handle. The pint-sized bottle was listed as a quarter full without its cap. There were no indications the alcohol spilled as the floor was dry and clean. Thwing said saw no drug remnants or paraphernalia anywhere in the house.

In the hallway was a rotary telephone with a cord long enough that it could have been transported anywhere throughout the house. Detectives saw no second phone and concluded this must have been the phone Brenda used to communicate with reporters and police.

The first bedroom was Brenda’s. It was untidy and cluttered with a few magazines and clothes. A single bed was against the wall with sage-colored shag carpet. On the bed was a brown and white imitation leather gun case that detectives took into evidence. Next to the bed was a night table covered with random electronics and a small lamp.

On top of the chest of drawers was small stereo with a couple speakers. “It looked like a tape player in the room, which could have possibly been an 8-track player.” said Thwing. He also thought that it may have also been TV parts. Brenda’s room had no posters or pictures and only an old clock hung on the front wall. The police photographed this room at 3:25 pm and moved on. 

Brother Scott’s bedroom was in just as much disorder as his sister’s. He had bunk beds and camping gear scattered around.  Bedroom three was clearly a storage area. It was full of red camping coolers and camping gear like sleeping bags. In the far corner was the C02 air rifle Wally had described. Police listed this room as a bedroom in disarray, although that could have described the entire home.

Wally’s room was much the same as the others with, clothes, food bowls, soda cans and papers on the floor. A large mattress and box spring directly on the floor sat in the corner. The table across from the unmade bed was built out of cinder blocks and wooden board. On the table was stacks of magazines and a TV in pieces.

The police report made no mention of the fort or the C02 pistols that Wally said were in his room. This space was not extensively searched, and detectives photographed it and moved on. Thwing described this room as “less cluttered than the other rooms” although pictures disagree with that assessment.

The official police report called this area extremely messy and cluttered with various foodstuffs.  The dining table was covered in pre-packaged snacks and various bottles.

The living room, just off from the kitchen, was covered in unvacuumed light brown shag carpet. Police reports listed it as having a large double lounger and two small couches but not much else. The report also describes a homemade TV set as being the only thing out of the ordinary.

Detectives never opened the sliding glass door or went into the backyard. The SWAT teams and Astrea helicopter surveillance was present for the past six hours, so this may have played a role in that. Though Brenda had spoken of pets, the officers saw saw no sign of any animals while they were in the house.

The official report was not time stamped and it is unknown exactly how long the detectives searched the house. We know the detectives arrived just after the surrender at 3:06 p.m., and the search was over in about two hours. Detective left just before it got dark, when the sun set at 5:18 p.m., and pulled the police tape from around the scene.