Bizarre to beautiful. new owner creates a paradise on the scene of a tragedy.

One tragic story captured the readers more than most.

It was the story of an exorcism that went wrong and caused the death of 49-year-old Antwerp woman Joan Vollmer in 1993.

It attracted not only the local reader but spread worldwide, and shone a spotlight on a case that baffled a community and a nation.

The property where that tragedy took place has now been turned into a natural haven for flora and fauna by new owner Mr Tim Inkster.

In 1993 Joan Vollmer died after several days of bizarre treatment performed by her husband, Ralph Vollmer, and neighbors and friends.

It attracted national media and brought the world's attention to the tiny Victorian town of Antwerp.

Mrs Vollmer was tied down, battered, denied food and water, and, after her death, left for two days in 40-degree heat while her husband and friends continued with life as they waited for her to rise from the dead.

Thirty years later, all that remains of the house where Ms Vollmer died is a few stones and rocks.

The current owner, Mr Tim Inkster, bought the property in 2011, demolished the home a few years later. and began turning it into a beautiful space.

"The house is gone," he said.

"We've planted over 10,000 trees along the river, and we spend a lot of time fishing, yabbying, and enjoying the land," he said. "The area is now under a contract with Trust For Nature."

"It's an awesome property," he said.

Mr Inkster said he knew about the exorcism when he bought the property, but he'd been looking for some land along the river for a few years, and when this one became available, he bought it to enjoy the river.

He admits he felt somewhat spooked by the house in the early six months of ownership, parking the tractor on the opposite side of the paddock if he was working after dark at the end of the day.

"It would have been funny if it wasn't for the fact that a tragedy took place in that house," he said.

"I didn't demolish it for that reason however, people kept coming onto the property to look inside, they treated it as public property.

" I wanted to stop that, so one day, the bulldozer leaned against one of the walls, and the whole house collapsed in 10 minutes."

"No one came after that; there was nothing to see," he said.

"I think people found it hard to believe such a thing could happen and wanted to see for themselves, but the house had been stripped and was bare, and nothing was left that represented those terrible events."

There was a fascination with the property while the house stood.

Mr Inkster said he was often approached by people who suggested he turn the house into a tourist attraction by running ghost tours, but he declined.

"I bought the property for the land, not to use the house for anything; it was the scene of a tragedy," he said.

"Occasionally, the dogs would bark when we were working at night, and even though it was probably just a possum, the hairs did stand up on the back of your neck a bit," he said.

Mr Inskster is the second owner since the exorcism.

Mr Shane Bond's family owned property on either side of the small piece of land the Vollmer house was on, and we bought it to connect the properties," he said.

Mr Bond said he was about 14 years old when the tragedy occurred and remembered police cars and media flocked to the area.

"It was most unusual to see that much activity in Antwerp, a town that only had a general store and a silo," he said.

He remembered seeing the news report on television showing Antwerp's main street, complete with tumbleweed rolling down the street. "It looked like an old Western movie scene," he said.

Mr Bond said he had met the Vollmers when they lived in Antwerp, and they seemed like a lovely couple, "just an average couple like anyone's grandparents would be," he said.

The court case was held in Horsham and Mr Vollmer and his co-accused were charged with manslaughter, charges which were originally dismissed until the case was later re-opened.

Mr Vollmer received a 12-month jail term for having recklessly caused injury and four months for false imprisonment, with both sentences wholly suspended for two years.

His co-accused received varying sentences.

Mrs Vollmer's funeral in Horsham was likened to a circus, with media almost out-numbering mourners.

Mr Vollmer claimed his wife would rise from the dead even as her coffin was lowered into her grave, but when she did not appear, he told the media she liked where she was too much to return.

An autopsy revealed she had died from cardiac arrest, likely caused by compression to the neck and internal injuries from the bizarre treatment of her husband and co-accused.

Mrs Vollmer had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but her husband thought her symptoms were demon-related.

Mr Vollmer moved to Queensland after remarrying.

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