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The House Of Horror | The Strange Case of Pazuzu Algarad
Coffeehouse Crime's 23-minute breakdown, the fullest single telling on file.
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Pazuzu Ilah Algarad was born John Alexander Lawson and legally changed his name in 2002 to align with his self-described satanic beliefs. He took the name Pazuzu after the Mesopotamian demon figure, while "Ilah Algarad" was said to mean "the lord of the locusts" in Arabic. He lived in Clemmons, North Carolina, with his mother.
In 2010, Joseph Emmrick Chandler was shot and killed in Donnaha Park near the Yadkin River. Algarad was later convicted in 2012 as an accessory after the fact in connection with Chandler's death, a legal status indicating he assisted after the killing occurred rather than being convicted of the killing itself.
In 2014, law enforcement discovered skeletal remains buried in shallow graves in the backyard of Algarad's Clemmons home. Algarad was arrested in connection with these discoveries. His girlfriend, Amber Burch, was also arrested; she was subsequently charged and later pleaded guilty for her role in the deaths associated with the remains found on the property.
Algarad's home was declared unfit for human occupation and was demolished on April 24, 2015.
On October 28, 2015, Algarad died of an apparent suicide in a North Carolina prison cell while incarcerated. Following his death, he became the subject of a Vice Media documentary titled "The Devil You Know."
Algarad's 2012 conviction was for acting as an accessory after the fact in Chandler's death, not for killing Chandler. His 2014 arrest followed the discovery of remains at his home. He died before the resulting allegations could be resolved at trial.
