Realtor Murders: Some Are Predators and Some Are Prey

Source: K. Ramsland

Recently, I spoke on a news show about Todd Kohlhepp, a successful realtor who was eventually unmasked as both a mass murderer and serial killer. On separate occasions, he’d hired couples to clean something on his remote property, killing the males and keeping the females captive for his sexual purposes. Only one of them survived, and only because the police showed up in time to save her.

Kohlhepp was a dangerous man, but few people saw this side of him. None of the victims believed they were taking a risk when they went out to complete the task. He was good at projecting a façade, although he was an angry, controlling guy who made some people uneasy.

In another predatory realtor case in California, broker Rosalba Contreras ran a scam that ended in a double homicide in 1998. She’d engaged an elderly couple, Valentine and Elvira Partida, in a con that cost them $2 million. With the help of their financial advisor and her brother, Ricardo, a notary public, she’d enticed them to sell their investment properties at below market value to her associates, and then resold these properties for top dollar. Confronted in 1998, she bludgeoned Valentine 18 times with a hammer and slashed his bedridden wife with a razor before setting their beach house on fire. Both died and she was convicted.

Oddly enough, Rosalba’s brother, Ricardo, was found stabbed to death in 2009 in a foreclosed property in Westchester, California. As a realtor, he was showing the expensive property to prospective buyers. A few days later, another realtor found his body.

So, realtors themselves can face these risks. Each time they meet a client alone at a property or invite strangers into their cars, they must trust that they’re dealing with someone who wants to undertake a legitimate transaction.

In Texas, on July 8, 2000, a couple found agent Sarah Anne Walker’s body in a model home. She’d been stabbed 27 times, bitten, and beaten, and her jewelry was gone. Her killer was eventually identified with DNA as Kosoul Chanthakoummane and arrested. Police believed he’d targeted other agents for future robbery and assault. On parole, he’d been convicted of aggravated robbery and kidnapping after he and a friend held two women at gunpoint to steal a car.

Fatal situations can erupt over mere comments. Realtor Ann Nelson asked James Hole why he was looking for a home if he couldn’t afford to make a purchase. Apparently, Hole grew enraged and strangled her with her scarf before bludgeoning her with the fireplace poker. He then set a mattress ablaze next to her to destroy evidence, but he was caught.

During the 1990s, an increase in violence during real estate transactions inspired the National Association of Realtors to create more safety programs. Guidelines advised against walking into a room with one’s back to a client and meeting strangers at vacant open houses. They also suggested having a cell phone ready, informing others of appointments and, if possible, including a partner at open houses. The NAR website provides more.

Still, predators do study where they might find vulnerable prey and how best to trap them. In 2008, agent Lindsay Buziak received a series of phone calls from a couple that said they needed to purchase a multi-million dollar home ASAP. She was uneasy, but she agreed to meet them at an executive house in Saanich, British Columbia. A witness saw her with a well-dressed Caucasian male and female. In a second-floor bedroom, they stabbed her multiple times, killing her. The cell phone number they’d used was linked to a false name.

In one case, a serial killer posed as a customer. James DeBardeleben III, a successful counterfeiter, had a thing for torture. In 1982, as "Dr. Zack," DeBardeleben had asked Louisiana realtor Jean McPhaul to show him several houses. After she failed to check in, associates found her in an empty house, lashed to a rafter in the attic, with two puncture wounds to her heart. After DeBardeleben’s arrest, police opened a storage locker and discovered female underwear, dildoes, chains, handcuffs, guns, knives, police badges and thousands of photos of women being tortured.

Besides meetings with pseudo buyers, realtors also face threats from disgruntled clients. In Michigan, Robert Johnson had purchased a house through agent Troy Vanderstelt. When he tried to sell it in 2008, he learned it had lost value. Blaming Vanderstelt, he arranged for a meeting and fatally shot him.

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In my own area, we have an unsolved realtor murder, and this one could have been prevented—or at least solved—with some basic precautions. On September 12, 1997, the body of agent Charlotte Fimiano was found in a vacant house. She’d been strangled and shot. Apparently after receiving a cold call, she’d gone out to show a potential buyer this home, but had left no information about the client with her associates. Twenty years later, it remains a puzzle.

Risk management techniques can reduce both types of risk. This means adopting a cautious attitude about customers and becoming educated about how other realtors (and customers) have been set up. Clients (or realtors) in a hurry should raise enough red flags to leave detailed information about them with associates. If they refuse to give contact info that can be checked out, they’re not worth the risk. More females than males have been targeted, and females should set up a way to inform associates of first meetings, especially with males alone. They can learn self-defense, carry items that would assist them, and learn how to keep clients in view at all times. They should communicate to clients that others know about the meeting, and they should avoid arousing an agitated client. They can help at associates’ open houses in order to receive such favors back, with the clear goal of watching each other's back.

In addition, agencies can set up safety practices for every potential transaction, such as a computer system for checking in and out and for recording the names and contact info of clients. Such practices, if communicated to clients, can deter those who intend harm. No legitimate client should have reason to refuse to provide such information. Many agencies have already put such practices into place, and there’s no reason for any agency not to have them. They can also provide regular trainings as reminders.

In the Kohlhepp case, although he had a legitimate business façade, his property was isolated. Those who accepted the clean-up gig could have told someone where they were going and when they expected to be back (just like hiking into a wilderness area). It’s better to be over-cautious than to assume that everyone who seems legitimate actually is.