Ex-‘Home Alone’ house owner found dead week after arrest

A former owner of the “Home Alone” house in Winnetka reportedly was found dead on Wednesday evening in a forest preserve in Lake Forest.

John Abendshien, 79, of Lake Forest, was discovered deceased in Derwen Mawr Nature Preserve around 5:47 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office, less than a week after he was arrested on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material.

A cause of death was not released by press time, and an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday, April 23, the coroner’s office said in a statement.

“This is believed to be an isolated incident with no threat to the community at this time,” the statement says.

The Lake Forest Police Department is in charge of the death investigation and declined to share further details by press time.

Abendshien lived in the iconic Winnetka home while the movie “Home Alone” was filmed in 1990 and through 2012. He published a memoir, “Home, But Alone No More,” in 2025 about the filming, a story that The Record covered.

Abendshien was the subject of an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation after police received tips that an online account linked to Abendshien had possessed and distributed child sexual abuse material.

Police executed an arrest warrant April 16, discovered electronic evidence at the residence and arrested Abendshien, a press release says. He reportedly was charged with seven felony counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.

Stay tuned to TheRecordNorthShore.org as this story develops.

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