By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
An ill-fated weekend that culminated in the drowning death of a young international student has cast Dresden’s famous “We Bought a Funeral Home” mansion back in the spotlight.
According to reports from the Chatham-Kent Police Service, first responders attended the 38-room residence Aug. 11 to find an unresponsive 20-year-old male in the swimming pool. Nomit Goswami was transported to hospital where he died.
Police have ruled the cause of death as accidental.
Heather Blumberg, who owns the massive manor with husband Arryn, calls the death a tragedy.
“I think what we need to keep at the forefront of our minds is the fact that a young man lost his life,” an emotional Blumberg told The Voice in an in-person interview. “It was a terrible accident.”
The death came on the heels of a tumultuous couple of days that saw Chatham-Kent police attend the Cross Street Airbnb three times, prior to the Sunday drowning. Blumberg said she first called police Friday, Aug. 9, when around 25 people — including unregistered guests — started to spin out of control. The partiers were breaking lamps and furniture in the opulent residence, causing thousands of dollars’ worth of damage.
One individual required stitches after being hit over the head with a fire extinguisher, Blumberg said.
She called C-K police after seeing some of the antics on surveillance cameras, but officers didn’t have the authority to remove the guests. As owner, Blumberg was forced to prove the renters had violated the contract. Once that was confirmed by Airbnb, the guests were viewed as trespassers and evicted by police.
A long-time Dresden landmark, the looming brick structure has had plenty of media exposure in recent times.
Built by lumber baron Ken Huston 150 years ago, the 12,000 square-foot home became the subject of a six-episode docu-series that aired on Discovery Plus, HBO Max and Prime. Purchased in 2021 by the Toronto-based Blumbergs for $570,000, the reality show documented the family’s move to Dresden, showcasing the extensive design changes and renovations that followed.
“We Bought a Funeral Home” also featured spooky and supernatural elements relating to the building’s 100-year history as a funeral home.
This past June, the home hit the real estate market. It’s listed for $1.88 million.
For the past three months, it has been operating as a $970-a-night Airbnb. Arryn Blumberg now works out of town and Heather stays with friends when the home is rented.
Heather Blumberg says recent troubles at the house, including allegations of sex and human trafficking, have fueled the rumour mill, especially online.
And while she acknowledges there was plenty of “sexual activity” going on at the home during the first two days of the infamous weekend, it’s nothing like what’s being portrayed on social media.
“There is no sex trafficking. There is no human trafficking,” Blumberg told The Voice. “We’re not that interesting. I’m afraid that’s not the case.”
But there was what she calls “inappropriate sexual behaviour.” Blumberg said she was informed by the guest who was hit by the fire extinguisher that the mansion was the site of a rotating sex party that meets around the region once a week. Blumberg didn’t want any part of it.
“As soon as we found out, we worked to get them out,” Blumberg explained.
She stressed Goswami was part of a separate group that came in on the Sunday.
“They were perfect guests; they were a lovely group of people,” she said of the last group. “They weren’t partying or doing drugs.”
Blumberg said she’s faced a “split reaction” from the Dresden community over the recent trouble, receiving support from some, and backlash from others.
“There are some people that are gleeful about us having a hard time,” she said. “People believe what they want to believe. Some people seem to find joy in speculating, gossiping and spreading awful rumours.”
