A rural estate where a sadistic dog killer committed horrific torture and bestiality has been sold after being on the market for more than a year.
A rural estate in the Northern Territory where a sadistic dog killer committed horrific torture and bestiality has been sold after being on the market for more than a year.
The former home of Adam Britton – a British-born zoologist sentenced to 10 years in prison for the brutal murder and sexual torture of dozens of dogs in rural Darwin – was sold in August for $659,000.
The real estate agent who sold the property at 100 McMinns Drive, McMinns Lagoon, has chosen not to comment on the sale.
The home was originally listed for sale in June 2024 for $790,000.
The ad stated that the 2.02-hectare estate had a Troppo Architect-designed home, a swimming pool and tropical gardens.
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Adam Britton is serving ten years in prison for his sadistic crimes.
Property records show Britton purchased the McMinns Lagoon residence in 2004 for $250,000.
A Darwin property expert who asked not to be named said the house sold below market value, but that was to be expected given what happened to the property.
“It’s a house full of horrors, so I understand why it took so long to sell,” he said.
“Once someone tells you whose house it is, you don’t want to touch it.”
He said a similar house without a gruesome backstory would have sold quickly, given the high demand for rural homes in the high-end property market.
“In today’s market, I would ask for offers over $799,000,” he said.
The latest PropTrack Home Price Index showed the average house price in Greater Darwin rose 12.9 per cent year-on-year to $643,000 in October.
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The house at 100 McMinns Dr, McMinns Lagoon. Image: realestate.com.au
In Adam Britton’s former home. Image: realestate.com.au
Daily Mail reported that Britton’s property was purchased by a local couple who knew the history of the house.
“We are a young couple trying to enter the market,” one of the new owners told the Daily Mail.
“We are aware of what happened, but it is about the person – not the place.
“History is obviously not going to repeat itself, and I hope others can see that.”
In 2024, Britton’s ex-wife, Erin, took 60 Minutes’ Tara Brown through the property.
“There was so much I loved about that property and it was wonderful and it belonged to me,” Erin told Mrs. Brown as they drove to the then-vacant house.
Erin said during the drive that this would probably be the last time she visited the rural block.
Erin told Ms Brown she only learned about Britton’s atrocities after he was arrested in 2022.
Police said the worst crime occurred when Erin was away for work.
Before his abhorrent actions were revealed, Britton was regarded as an internationally renowned crocodile expert and once hosted David Attenborough during the filming of the 2008 documentary ‘Life in Cold Blood’.
Britton had a 5 meter saltwater crocodile named Smaug who lived in a crocodile cage on the McMinns Lagoon estate from 2005.
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Within 100 McMinns Dr, McMinns Lagoon. Image: realestate.com.au
The kitchen at 100 McMinns Dr, McMinns Lagoon. Image: realestate.com.au
In September 2023, Britton admitted running a “torture chamber” in a shipping container on the McMinns Lagoon property.
He sadistically filmed himself raping, torturing and killing dogs he acquired by promising trusting owners a forever home for their pets.
Britton discussed and shared videos of the acts on the free messaging service Telegram.
Britton pleaded guilty to more than 60 separate crimes, including bestiality and animal cruelty, after admitting raping and killing at least 39 dogs at his McMinns Lagoon estate between November 2020 and April 2022.
In August 2024, Britton was convicted to ten years and five months in prison, with a non-parole period of six years.
Sentencing, Chief Justice Grant said it was “difficult to imagine how a crime of this nature could be more serious”, saying “the suffering of these animals was indescribable”.
“On each occasion the violence against these animals was serious and usually prolonged. The content of the agreed facts and the descriptions I have given in these sentencing remarks illustrate that graphically,” he said.
Adam Britton with his 5-metre saltwater crocodile, Smaug, on his McMinns Lagoon property in 2015. Photo: Helen Orr
A protester holds a sign outside the High Court in Darwin where zoologist Adam Britton was due to be convicted of the torture, rape and slaughter of dozens of dogs. Photo: Pema Tamang Pakhrin
“The sheer deviance and brutality of your behavior is not satisfactorily encompassed by the bare description that you killed every animal with the intention of causing its death – your behavior is so much more than that.
“You have used weapons extensively in your activities – including knives, wooden clubs, pliers, bolt cutters, hacksaws and axes – as the Crown has stated, the clear and unalloyed pleasure you derived from inflicting this torture is sickeningly evident from the material recorded.
“Furthermore, your modus operandi was one of devious and careful forethought and planning; the persons from whom you purchased these dogs believed that they were going to a good home and that they would be protected.”
In ruling that the maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment for each offense was “the only appropriate penalty”, Chief Justice Grant said the offense “could only be properly described as falling into the worst category of offenses of this type”.
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