HOUSTON CHRONICLE by Keri Blakinger, Thursday, April 6, 2017

The League City home that was the scene of a grisly discovery last year has been sold, according to property records.

The body of 30-year-old Anne-Christine Johnson was found in December in the garage of a home at 617 Chesterfield Ln., League City, TX that just went for between $185,000 and $215,000, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.

The online listing boasts about “luxury upgrades,” a granite island kitchen and a two-car garage. The post makes no mention of the home’s gruesome past.

Shaun Hardy, 32, admitted to killing his ex-wife only after crews hunted for the missing mother for three weeks, combing wooded areas near the home.

Then in early January, police showed up at Hardy’s Chesterfield Lane home with a search warrant for cell phones possibly linked to the case.

When a detective neared the garage, he noticed a “strong odor of decaying flesh,” according to a probable cause affidavit.

Once inside the garage, the detective spotted an object the size of a human body, covered in dark plastic and duct tape, with scented candles arranged around it.

Later, in a recorded interview, Hardy described the crime in detail, telling police he kicked a knife into Johnson’s chest and then threw a Kroger bag over her head to put her “out of her misery.”

The home that was the alleged site of the crime sold Monday, according to Galveston County Clerk records.

Although he lived there at the time of the killing, Hardy was not the home’s owner. Instead, it was listed to Vault Investments – a company managed by Shaun Hardy’s father Barry, according to deed records and a person familiar with the family.

It had been on the market less than two months, according to Realtor.com.

Shaun Hardy is currently being held in the Galveston County jail on $500,000 bail.

Nancy Sarnoff contributed to this report.

PHOTO CAPTION: League City Police Department Works at the scene at a residence where the body of Christine Johnson was found Dec. 30, 2016 in League City. Photo by James Nielsen, Houston Chronicle