The house of tragedy where Pheobe Bishop spent her final days, amidst bags of deceased puppies, dog waste, and heaps of decaying trash, has been discreetly sold.
Her remains were discovered at Queensland’s Good Night Scrub National Park on June 6, following her disappearance 22 days earlier on her way to Bundaberg Airport.
Her cohabitants, James Wood and Tanika Bromley, are currently imprisoned, awaiting trial for the alleged murder of the 17-year-old after providing her a ride to the airport on May 15.
Police and community members were revolted by the gruesome scenes detectives reportedly encountered at the shared residence at 27 Milden Street in Gin Gin, 50km west of Bundaberg.
Alarmed investigators reportedly found garbage bags filled with the bodies of deceased dogs, with rubbish and dog waste throughout the interior.
The overpowering stench of decay hung over the property and neighbouring homes in the small town for weeks.
The property’s young proprietors, Jacob and Milena Otto, from Far North Queensland, only became aware of the home’s condition through media coverage of Pheobe’s disappearance.
They had been renting it to Bromley for $550 per week, and said she had ‘ticked all the boxes’ as a prospective tenant at the time.
Once police released it as a crime scene, the Ottos were finally allowed inside their trashed home and told media they wanted to clean it up and rent it out again.
Gin Gin 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop vanished on her way to the airport in May
She lived at 27 Milden Street with Tanika Bromley and James Wood
They even launched a fundraising appeal on GoFundMe to help them cover the cost of the clean-up operation.
‘Our old family house has been devastated by tenants [allegedly] involved with the disappearance of Pheobe Bishop,’ they wrote in the fundraising appeal.
‘My place was once a lovely home with fond memories, and now, NOT even recognisable.
‘The time and care that was put into this house was destroyed within three months.
‘We are facing large costs to clean up the property and make it liveable again. We would have never thought we would ask for help like this.
‘But insurance excess, repairs, the unliveable state of the interior, and the large amount of rubbish items to clean and remove are overwhelming.’
The GoFundMe was created on June 10, and raised $2275 before the appeal ended a few days later.
Daily Mail can now reveal that, according to property records, it was sold on June 13 – just three days after the Ottos launched their plea for cash.
The home’s owners, Milena and Jacob Otto, were horrified by the mess
Police declared the home, where Pheobe had been living for months, a crime scene
Piles of rubbish could be seen, and there was dog faeces found throughout the house
A private buyer purchased the three-bedroom, one-bathroom classic high-set Queenslander for $360,000.
The price is well below Gin Gin’s median house price of $460,000, but the Ottos still made a $200,000 profit, after buying the property for $160,000 in 2018.
It is understood the buyer is local and intends to restore it to its former glory.
Pheobe’s aunt Carolea Johnson – who is estranged from Pheobe’s mother Kylie – vented her frustration online over the sale.
‘The house Pheobe last lived in was cleaned up and sold in June,’ she revealed.
‘People even gave him money to clean it and put it back up for rent as that’s what he stated [he was going to do],’ she said.
‘They have kept it quiet… he is allowed to do what ever he liked because it was his house, but why can’t people just be honest [about their intentions].’
Daily Mail contacted the Ottos, but they did not respond.
Pheobe was declared missing on May 16 after she did not check in for her 8.30am flight from Bundaberg to Brisbane – the first leg in her planned journey to visit her boyfriend Levi in Western Australia.
Phoebe’s body was found in the Good Night Scrub National Park, near Gin Gin
The house where she lived has been quietly sold in a private deal
The classic Queenslander was expected to be restored to its former glory
It sparked a major search after police revealed she was last seen in a grey Hyundai ix35, which was also declared a crime scene, along with the Milden Street home she shared with Bromley, 33, and Wood, 34.
Land and waterway searches of the region were conducted by police and SES, and later zeroed in on Good Night Scrub National Park where some items of interest were found.
Pheobe’s housemates were arrested on June 5 and were each charged with one count of murder and two counts of interfering with a corpse.
The following day, police found the teenager’s remains in an isolated, wild dog and pig-infested area of the park.
Bromley and Wood are now before the courts, with police alleging Pheobe was murdered not long after the car was seen on a home’s CCTV near Bundaberg Airport.
Police allege her body was moved twice – first on the day she disappeared, and again on May 17.
Bromley and Wood are remanded in custody and their cases were mentioned at Bundaberg Magistrates Court in August.
James Wood (pictured) and Tanika Bromley have been charged with Pheobe’s murder
Bromley (pictured) and Wood will face Bundaberg Magistrates Court in November
Police searched for Pheobe for weeks after her May 15 disappearance
Their next court appearance is scheduled for 3 November.
In July, a third person was charged in relation to Pheobe’s death.
Kieren Daniel Mittelheuser, 30, was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact to murder, alleging he used Ms Bishop’s mobile phone to interfere with investigations.
