Duke lacrosse house destroyed, plans undecided

The lone effigy of the largest scandal the University faced in at least the last decade is no more.

610 N. Buchanan Rd., the home that the 2006 Duke Lacrosse case emerged from, was leveled Monday morning.

The house stood just across the street from the stone walls of Duke's East Campus and had been vacant since the March 2006 lacrosse party, where stripper Crystal Mangum alleged she was raped by three of the team's athletes. The charges were dropped after extensive research and deliberations. The property, though off campus, was part of a larger University purchase of rental properties just one month before the scandal broke.

(Read Chronicle alumnus and 2010 graduate Nate Freeman's narrative of the house and the case on The Awl)

The University kept the house uninhabited as lawsuits related to the case continued over the years - the building was considered a piece of evidence. Duke looked to sell the property in April.

Future plans for the property are undecided. The University's 2006 purchase was aimed at developing more spacious and family-friendly living quarters. Now, the location might be put on the market. University administrators will make a decision "sooner rather than later," Mike Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, told The (Raleigh) News & Observer Monday.