21 January 2023 , 09:59
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A man has purchased an unused storage container - before discovering a murdered family inside.
George Gennai brought a storage unit in Seattle, US, in the hope to flog its contents online to make some quick cash.
However, when he opened the container after purchasing it in 1992, he soon found the remains of a murdered family inside.
Before he made the shocking discovery, George was curious of the storage unit as it had been left untouched for a number of years, despite its owner continuing to pay the rent.
Once he had purchased the unit, George began rooting around the container in the hope to find some forgotten goods that he could sell on but he soon noticed a foul smell coming from a heap of black bin bags.
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George was hoping to find some forgotten goods in the storage unit (Getty Images/iStockphoto)George discovered a human skull in one of the bin bags and soon alerted the police of his findings.
After a thorough investigation, experts identified the bodies of 36-year-old Barbara Bender and her two sons, who had been missing for 12 years.
Barbara and her two sons died following multiple blows to the head.
When police entered the storage unit, they also found a hatchet with blood and hair on it.
Prior to her death, Barbara had filed for divorce from her husband and was last seen loading her belongings into a van.
A human skull was found in the storage unit (Getty Images)The police investigation soon began to point at Barbara's ex-husband, Mark, who was the person who had initially rented the storage unit.
However, the findings only came to light after Mark's second wife paused the payments on the unit and George took over the lease.
Mark was soon arrested on suspicion of murdering his ex-wife and two sons.
He later admitted to the murders and received three life sentences for the three counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to at least 80 years in prison.
When George spoke out about what he found in the storage unit, he said: "I was in Vietnam, I've seen this before."
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The bodies inside the storage unit were identified as 36-year-old Barbara Bender and her two sons (Getty Images)While the discovery was awfully tragic, it did offer some comfort to Barbara's mother, who had been searching for her daughter and grandchildren for over 12 years.
Following her daughter's disappearance, Bette Jones assumed her daughter had entered a witness protection programme and that was why she hadn't heard from her.
Bette said: "I've been waiting for word from her so long.
"But at least this is better than not knowing what happened to her."
Barbara’s cousin Mangen added: "Now at least they can be buried and rest in peace.”