In March, NBC made the decision to postpone the airing of a Dateline episode that featured the tragic story of Beverly Carter, a real estate agent who was murdered when she met a prospective buyer at an Arkansas home. Finally, they have aired “The Client” on NBC.
Carter went missing on September 26, 2014. She had called her husband around 5:30 p.m. to tell him where she was showing a home. When she hadn’t returned by 9:00, Carl Carter drove to the address and discovered his wife’s vehicle and purse, but did not find her.
Carter was discovered on Sept. 30 in a shallow grave almost 20 miles away from the house she had been showing. Arron Lewis admitted kidnapping Carter. Later, Lewis’ wife, Crystal Lowery, was arrested and charged with the murder. She plead guilty in July to first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Lewis convicted
In January, Arron Lewis was convicted of the Clark’s murder.
Lewis had kidnapped Carter to try and demand a ransom from her husband, but the plan unraveled, so he killed Carter.
The conviction carries a mandatory life sentence, but Lewis is not done in the court system. He filed a lawsuit against deputies in the Sheriff’s office alleging excessive force. The trial began on Wednesday, which some believe could be why Dateline delayed the airing of the episode of Carter’s murder.
Changing how you meet prospects
The NAR has advised Realtors to get a photo ID before meeting a prospective client for many years. Clark’s tragic death was a reminder to everyone in the industry about how important it is. It’s easy to get complacent about procedures, especially when you’re a busy businessman or woman. Buyers and sellers have never had to “validate” their identity when dealing with realtors, so it’s going to take a two-pronged approach to make changes.
As The Real Daily has reported, the industry standards have to change.
Everyone who is coming to a realtor just needs to expect to show identification.
If you were renting an apartment, you would have to show your ID before being taken to the property. The government did not mandate this, the industry did. People can change, if they are forced to make those changes.
Verify and validate
Secondly, all realtors have to take their safety seriously and verify identities. We don’t say that to blame Beverly Carter. We say that to learn from her tragic death.
Verify Photo ID is a mobile app that checks identities by having the prospect take a picture of their ID and sending to your phone. It scans the ID and provides information about the individual straight to your phone (or laptop, desktop, tablet, etc.) so that you can make an informed decision.
It’s just $15.00 per month for an individual account, which is a small price to pay for safety.
#RealtorSafety
UPDATE: This story originally reflected the incorrect air date for Dateline’s story on Carter.
