Phoebe Judge

In 1957, a couple named Ed and Bertha Briney inherited an old farmhouse from Bertha's parents in a rural part of Iowa.

Bertha Briney's grandparents and parents had lived in the house.

After her parents died, Bertha Briney had wanted to keep things as they were, down to the plates and silverware on the kitchen table.

We're hearing about the Brineys and their farmhouse from retired law professor Andrew McClurg.

According to the Brineys, in the decades since they inherited the house, it had been broken into 50 times.

Ed Briney later said he'd nailed doors and windows shut, posted seven no trespassing signs around the property, and complained to sheriffs in two different counties over and over.

But nothing seemed to work.

And that's when Ed Briney got out his shotgun.

Ed and Bertha attached the shotgun to an iron bed frame and ran a wire from the gun's trigger to the bedroom doorknob so that if someone opened the bedroom door, the trigger would be pulled and the gun would go off.

Was there any sign posted outside of the house saying no trespassing or gun on premises, you will be shot if you enter?

A booby trap.

The population of Eddyville was around 1,000 people,

Its main street was two blocks long, and just off of it was a gas station owned by the Katko family.

28-year-old Marvin Katko worked there with his father.

Ed and Bertha Briney's farmhouse.

Marvin had noticed the house over the years when he went hunting in the area.

It was surrounded by tall weeds.

And some of the smaller buildings around the property were falling apart.

According to court documents, Marvin had broken in once before with a friend to collect bottles, and they had decided to come back to see if there was anything they missed.

The window they'd used to get in the first time had been completely boarded up, so they walked around the house until they found another window that was easier to get into, even though it was boarded up too.