LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) — An HBO documentary about a 2009 killing has brought a surge of visitors to a Fourth Street home in Old Louisville, prompting some residents to question whether the attention shows proper respect for the neighborhood and the victim.
The two-part film, Murder in Glitterball City, revisits the killing of James Carroll, whose body was discovered inside a plastic storage container buried in a basement off Fourth Street. The home was shared by Jeffrey Mundt and Joseph Banis, who each blamed the other for Carroll’s death. The documentary draws from David Dominé’s 2021 nonfiction book, A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City.
Mackenzie Geigle, who lives nearby, said she has noticed a clear increase in foot traffic since the documentary premiered.
“I have noticed a lot more people have been kind of walking up and down the streets… there has been a lot more foot traffic I’ve noticed as I’ve walked around,” Geigle said.
Old Louisville typically attracts visitors for its Victorian architecture, history and ghost tours. However, Geigle said this latest wave feels different from typical tourism.
“I just think it is a little odd when people go out of their way to go see somewhere that somebody was tragically murdered at and left in the basement,” she said.
While acknowledging the popularity of true crime stories, Geigle expressed concern about how the trend affects the community and Carroll’s memory.
“I feel like it’s a little bit disrespectful to the people who have been murdered and their families as well… I don’t want such a nice neighborhood to be known as ‘this is where this guy died,’” she said.
She also worries that ongoing attention could change how neighbors interact.
“People aren’t gonna wanna interact with each other… keep your head down and just keep walking — from fear that I don’t wanna talk about this again,” she said.
Geigle urged visitors to remember the reality behind the location.
“You’re not just seeing a house like, oh, that was in a documentary. You’re seeing a real place where somebody died. You have to be respectful about that either way,” she said, adding, “I don’t necessarily think it’s a great thing for them to come to the neighborhood to just go see this.”
Banis is serving a life sentence at the Lee Adjustment Center in Beattyville. Mundt was released to a halfway house in August 2014 after serving half of his eight-year sentence.
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