Entries Tagged 'Real Estate Agent Safety' ↓

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The trial of Stacy Humphrey who committed the 2003 murder of 2 Atlanta real estate agents at their office is over. He has been convicted and on Sunday received the death sentence for his crimes against Cyndi Williams and Lori Brown. 

While this sentence will not bring the young ladies back, it will hopefully act as a deterrent against others who would think that crimes of this nature are worth committing. He robbed the agents at an on site sales office to get money for a truck payment and lead the officers on a multi state chase where he was eventually captured in Wisconsin.  

A jury sentenced a man to death by lethal injection Sunday for the 2003 murders of two real estate agents he robbed, stripped naked and shot in the head at their office.
Stacey Ian Humphreys, 34, was convicted Tuesday by the same jury in the slayings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown. The trial lasted two weeks and deliberations on the death sentence took nearly 19 hours.
The victims’ families cried and embraced when a court clerk read the verdict Sunday morning. Humphreys showed no emotion. “A terrible crime deserves a terrible punishment,” Brown’s father, Wayne Brown Sr., told reporters outside the courthouse. via The Associated Press

The guys over at NACOM have come out with a new product for Real Estate Agents, The Agent’s 911 . I was contacted early on in their design process as we covered attacks on agents such as Sarah Anne Walker on the site. Their company has been in the ATM security business providing a means for contacting the police quicky if a service agent for an ATM is accosted.

Obvioulsy, they understand the need for a a quick response in the face of an emergency.

And as the bad guys realize what an easy target a real estate agent is in the homes they are showing, security will become more and more of an issue for real estate agents.

So the team designed The Agent’s 911 for Real Estate Agents. Essentially it is a live panic button in the homes that are for sale that places a call to the local police if an agent feels they are in trouble. The agent will wear a pendant or bracelet that has an activator that can be pushed to alert the authorities that a problem is occuring.

So instead of being alone and scared if you think you are going to be assaulted, you can immediately start the police response.

The system can be used in homes that are occupied, and if the home is empty, phone services such as Verizon also have a low cost 911 service for homes that the phone service is turned off on.

Also ease of use is a big factor in the design of the product. From the website and e-mails with the creators  I learned that the system is easily installed. An agent that is not technically savvy will not have a problem quickly and correctly install the Agent’s 911 unit.

Agent safety is not something that brokers want to mess around with. The combination of a safety alert system with a sign to ward off criminals could save the life of an agent.

The Agent’s 911 is taking pre-orders now, but if you are a real estate agent or a broker, I would take the time to check them out.

Matthew Wilson, the ex con that assaulted a real estate agent in Missouri, was arrested while outside of a Texas real estate office Saturday evening. There is no proof that he was planning another assault, but it is great news this man has been taken off the streets and will face justice for the crime that he is accused of.

I have to tip my hand to the law enforcement efforts in this case. The quick survey of security cameras in the area right after the assault was able to get a positive identification on Wilson, and then the work of the US Marshalls tracking him to Texas so quickly may have saved another agent from an assault like which happened outside of St. Louis.

St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department officials say Wilson was taken into custody outside of a real estate office in the town of Granbury, Texas near Fort Worth.

Investigators say U.S. Marshals tracked Wilson to Texas and notified police in the town of Granbury. St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department officials say a Granbury police officer spotted a vehicle that matched the one investigators believe Wilson was driving, outside a realtor’s office. The license plates did not correspond to those investigators were looking for, but the officer noticed a lot of clothing and other items inside and that raised the officer’s suspicions. When Wilson returned to the real estate office, police took him into custody without incident. via KSDK NewsChannel 5

There has been an arrest in the murder of Sarah Anne Walker, the McKinney, Texas real estate agent. Kosul Chanthakoummane was arrested Tuesday for the murder after a 2 month search. The murder was a wake up call to the real estate community which has gotten lax in its security plans for open houses.

Kosoul Chanthakoummane, 25, was arrested on a charge of capital murder late Tuesday in connection with the death of Sarah Anne Walker, said Capt. Randy Roland of the McKinney Police Department. Chanthakoummane was arrested at his Dallas apartment and was being held Wednesday morning on $1 million bond, Roland said.

A house-hunting couple found Walker’s body July 8 in the kitchen of a model home in the fast-growing suburb of McKinney, about 30 miles north of Dallas. The 40-year-old agent had been stabbed 27 times in what detective described as an unusually ferocious attack.

The slaying rattled real estate agents who work open houses alone and worried nearby residents living in the kind of new, extravagant homes Walker sold.

Roland said a combination of detective work, witness statements and forensic evidence led investigators to Chanthakoummane. The McKinney police released a composite sketch a couple of weeks ago based on witness statements, Roland said. The sketch prompted a tip that led police to Chanthakoummane, he said.

Roland said Chanthakoummane is the only suspect in the case.

Further details of the case, including a motive for the slaying or any possible relationship between Chanthakoummane and Walker, were not available early Wednesday. Roland said a press conference was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon to discuss the arrest. via The Houston Chronicle.

Update: Reward Donor waiting for word on who to give reward to.

“Two weeks ago we released a composite drawing, and that immediately tickled a nerve or a memory in the back of somebody’s mind and they called the police department,” McKinney police Capt. Randy Roland said at a news conference with Ms. Walker’s family. “We interviewed them, and through that work we were able to get a name.”

Steve Nichols, owner of Steve Nichols Appraisal Service in Frisco, put up $10,000 toward a reward for information leading to an arrest in Ms. Walker’s murder. Mr. Nichols said he was “hopeful” when he heard the news of Tuesday’s arrest.

“I’d be real excited to think the reward money that was put up was part of finding the person,” he said.

More information from Steve Huff’s CrimeBlog – Some good information on Kosoul Chanthakoummane.

The murder investigation of Sarah Anne Walker has continued to progress with the police releasing a sketch of a person of interest seen in front of the home the same day Sarah Anne Walker was murdered. The man, an asian  who was driving a white late model Mustang, may have seen something and McKinney police are wanting to talk to him.

For the first time police put a face on someone who may have seen something. Officials have released a sketch of an Asian man seen outside the model home. The man was driving a white, late-model Mustang with retro-’60s styling.

McKinney police Capt. John Duscio says police would like to identify the man. “He’s one person who’s not been talked to yet who was in the area.” Police place the man outside the model home at the time of the murder: around 1 p.m. on Saturday July 8th.

Officials say the man in the sketch has not been characterized as a suspect or a witness. “He may have been able to have seen something and we just want to speak to him — find out what he might’ve seen during that time while he was there,” Duscio said.via CBS 11

Video

While there are no suspects in the murder  of Sarah Anne Walker, the case is still being investigated. The police have determined that she was stabbed with a smaller knife more  than 20 times and that the person who attacked her was a smaller man or woman. She also had her Rolex watch stolen. The watch, a Datejust Rolex, had the Jubilee band of gold and silver.

Crime Stoppers has also added 10,000 dollars to the reward fund bringing it up to 40,000 dollars for  the arrest and conviction of Sarah Anne Walker’s murderer.

Police now say it’s possible she was stabbed so many times because she fought with her killer.

Possibly a small man, or maybe even a woman killed Walker… police won’t go into detail about blood spatter evidence, but they are talking about a possible murder weapon.

“It could be your standard folding-blade pocketknife,” said Chief Doug Kowalski, McKinney Police Department.

Kowalski says the person who killed Walker used a single blade knife. The blade was not serrated but had a clean edge, and was about 2-1/2 inches long.

Police say it is possible Walker knew her attacker, but there are also other possibilities. “It could also mean that she struggled and fought - which we believe she did. It was somebody that had difficulty obtaining control over her,” Kowalski said.

via cbs11tv.com .

The charges against the  still unidentified person who murdered real estate  agent Sarah Anne Walker have been upgraded to Capital Murder. The upgrade means that whoever killed her is facing the death penalty when they are caught.

McKinney Police Capt. Randy Roland said in a released statement they are increasing the criminal charges from murder to capital murder because some evidence taken from the scene indicates some of her jewelry was stolen during the murder.

Roland said investigators discovered that a gold Rolex watch called a ladies’ “Datejust” and a silver ring were taken from Walker during the murder.

Investigators learned Walker purchased these items during the evening hours of Friday, July 7, and “very few people know that she owned it,” Roland said. via  the Star Community Newspapers.

 The local investigators have released that the perpetrator was injured in the fight that left Sarah Anne Walker dead. According to the Dallas Morning News “Capt. Randy Roland said investigators believe Ms. Walker’s killer was hurt in the attack because they found smatterings of another person’s blood at the scene.”

If you have any information in this case please call 972-547-7600 or visit http://www.mckinneypolice.org.

There is no new information being made public on the murder of the McKinney Texas real estate agent Sarah Anne Walker as to who murdered her in model home.

Sarah Anne Walker was laid to rest on Friday at St. Monica’s Catholic Church in North Dallas. Over 200 people attended the service.

A 30,000 dollar reward fund has been established for any information that will help convict the killer of Sarah Anne Walker.

Two funds have been created to help the family and educate her children.

DR Horton has created the Sarah Walker Fund. To donate, send a check payable to D.R. Horton, Inc./Sarah Walker Fund and can be mailed to D.R. Horton, Inc., Sarah Walker Fund, c/p Paula Hunter-Perkins, 301 Commerce St., Suite 500, Fort Worth, Tex. 76102.

The family has created a memorial fund to be used to educate her two sons. Donations can me made at any Bank of America branch.

Transcript from Greta Van Susteren’s Interview with McKinney Police Chief.

UPDATE 7/24 - Most Recent News and Update

Update 9/6 - Suspect Kosul Chanthakoummane Arrested in Murder - Never knew Sarah Anne Walker.

The murder of Sarah Anne Walker this past week is causing many real estate agents and brokers to reconsider how they show homes to prospective buyers. The use of open houses makes the agents as one refers to them, “sitting ducks”. For an agent to be alone in an open house has to be a frightening experience if you start to think about it.

I was talking to my partner about this and he had a great idea. Remember the I have fallen and can not get up buttons for the elderly? They should be owned by every real estate agent in the country so that if they are attacked they can press the button and alert the police. Add GPS to the device and this could provide 2 benefits. First, the agent could notify authorities quickly if they were being threatened or assaulted. Second, would be assailants would know the possibility of being caught would be much higher and be a deterrent to attacks.

Between 1982 and 2000, more than 200 U.S. real estate agents were killed on the job, according to a safety report published by the Kentucky Real Estate Commission. Untold other agents were raped or mugged.
On Saturday, prospective buyers who stopped to tour a McKinney model home found Sarah Anne Walker’s body. She had been stabbed more than two dozen times. Police are sifting through clues to find her assailant.

Sarah Anne Walker In 2002, at least four sales agents were robbed at gunpoint while showing homes in North Dallas.
And not all attacks get publicity.
In an industry that depends on one-on-one contact, sales agents know that they must be wary of the wrong kind of person.
“If only we knew what an attacker looks like – that’s the problem,” said Sherryl Wesson, an office manager for Dallas-based Ebby Halliday Realtors. “You have to be on guard all the time.”
To keep sales agents safe, Ms. Wesson said her firm asks prospects who want to see a home to meet at the agent’s office and provide identification. And agents are discouraged from working alone at an open house.
“We always like for them to have someone accompany them at an open house,” she said. “You can’t be a sitting duck.”  via  WFAA.com

Sarah Anne Walker, a real  estate agent working in the DR Horton subdivision The Hemingway at Craigs Ranch, was brutally murdered with a knife Sunday. We forget that agents working can always be targets of opportunity as they tend to  work alone and closely with clients. Working a model home is more dangerous as there is no opportunity to prescreen the customers or get personal information from them.

It would be a smart move for the larger builders to develop a panic system for  the  agents that could tie in to a central monitoring station  for their agents. This could at least allow  the agents to have a first layer of defense in case someone wished them harm.

Mr. Tate had picked up the couple’s son, Josh, from Ms. Walker’s Frisco home Saturday morning before she headed to work as a D.R. Horton sales representative at a model home in The Hemingway at Craig Ranch community of town homes in McKinney.
By 1:30 p.m., a couple visiting the show home in the 5700 block of Conch Train Road found Ms. Walker’s fully clothed body face down in the kitchen. McKinney police think she had been killed around noon.
Capt. Randy Roland said Ms. Walker was stabbed 27 times all over her upper body. Many of her wounds were defensive, meaning she put up a fight, Capt. Roland said.
“There was a pretty brutal crime scene in the bottom part of the model home,” he said. “There was a struggle throughout the downstairs.”
Capt. Roland said it was only the second slaying this year in the Collin County city of more than 100,000 people.
Sunday morning, crime scene tape and squad cars surrounded the home in a still-developing neighborhood that sits near a sprawling field and overlooks a sea of rooftops.
Capt. Roland said investigators were working to identify potential suspects. They had already spoken to people who toured the home Saturday morning and had gotten information from the few neighbors about what cars were parked near the model that day.
Investigators watched Ms. Walker’s autopsy. “They’re going to gather evidence as to what weapons were used, things like that,” Capt. Roland said.He said police had yet to determine whether Ms. Walker was targeted or her death was a crime of opportunity.
“We don’t have any clues to the motive,” Capt. Roland said.

via the Dallas Morning News.

More on the murder of Sarah Anne Walker.