Sept. 11, 2026, 9:31 p.m. ET
Less than a mile from the Pacific Ocean, a rental has hit the market in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset, one of the city’s most sought-after neighborhoods.
The three-bedroom home at 2518 46th Ave. features hardwood floors, a two-car garage and is within walking distance of Ocean Beach. But the listing comes with a troubling footnote: prosecutors allege the property’s landlord fatally shot the previous tenant outside the home earlier this year.
The residence sits at the center of the killing of Eric Bigone, a case that shocked San Francisco and led authorities to charge the landlord with murder, arson, assault and multiple firearms offenses. The case has become one of the Bay Area’s most closely watched criminal prosecutions of 2026.
What led to the killing of Eric Bigone
Philippe Chagniot, 68, a retired dentist and landlord of the 46th Avenue property, was arrested and charged in late May in connection with the alleged killing of Bigone outside of the property, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Bigone’s family details that the killing likely stemmed from a rental dispute between the two men over the property.
Chagniot was charged with murder, with a firearm enhancement and a special circumstances enhancement for lying in wait; he also received several other gun- and arson-related charges, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
Chagniot pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment on May 29, according to court records.
On May 17, 2026, surveillance footage captured Chagniot approaching the Outer Sunset property “in dark clothing and a mask” on a bicycle at about 5:10 a.m., according to San Francisco Police.
Chagniot is then seen allegedly spray-painting surveillance cameras in the area before starting a fire on top of Bigone’s car, which was parked outside of the house. home. Chagniot then allegedly hid off to the side of the property, as Bigone ran outside with a shovel to try and put out the fire, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
As Bigone was distracted, Chagniot allegedly walked towards Bigone with a “silenced and fully automatic Mac-10 firearm” and shot him in the back. He then allegedly shot him again once Bigone fell to the floor, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
Camera footage then captures Chagniot “casually biking away” after the alleged killing of Bigone.
San Francisco police then used FLOCK cameras to locate and follow Chagniot’s movement back to his house.
However, it wasn’t until May 28 that the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office ultimately decided to arrest and charge Chagniot in connection with the killing of Bigone.
Murder leads to wrongful death lawsuit
Property records and court filings indicate the Chagniot 2007 Family Trust still owns the home, including Philippe Chagniot and his wife, Barbara Chagniot.
New details regarding the alleged killing were revealed in June, after Bigone’s son, Dino Bigone, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Chagniot, his wife, and their trustee, in an attempt to stop the parties from selling the property.
Court records reveal that Chagniot began renting the Outer Sunset property to Bigone for $3,200 a month in cash. The lawsuit alleges that Chagniot wanted the payment in cash so “they did not have to report those earnings to the State and Federal Governments on their taxes.”
The agreement held strong until January of 2026, when Chagniot decided he wanted to sell the property, according to court records. Chagniot began refusing to accept Bigone’s rental payments and threatened to evict him, according to court records.
Between January and May, Chagniot repeatedly threatened to use the “Ellis Act” to force Bigone to vacate the property. However, the lawsuit alleges that Chagniot did not start the “Ellis Act” process and instead confronted Bigone in person on May 17.
In response to the lawsuit, a San Francisco judge has barred the Chagniots and their trustee from selling the property for the duration of the case.
Without the ability to sell the property, the Outer Sunset home began to appear on rental sites in late August.
A listing on Homes.com reveals that the property initially went up for rent on Aug. 22 for $8,000; however, within days, the rental price dropped to $6,500, nearly twice the amount Bigone was paying to rent the property.
On Sept. 2, the rental price dropped again, and the property was relisted for $6,300.
Since then, the rental has remained unchanged on rental sites.
Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.
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