Last night, the prime time airing of "Fox Files" included a graphic depiction of the dangers faced by REALTORS® during home showings.

Several agents have been murdered across the country lured to their deaths by the promise of a seller's contract or a showing a home to a prospective buyer.

Inside critics blame the contract labor nature of the industry for the dangers. Realtors don't get paid until something is sold. They work out of their own pockets and are easily tempted by the prospect of a quick sale, especially by an anxious seller or buyer in a hurry.

Despite taking precautions, such as insisting on obtaining a driver's license and an employer's phone number to verify employment before showing a buyer homes, many Realtors still experience tragedy.

Featured in the segment was Joan Malone, an Irving, Texas agent and activist for Realtor safety. Accompanied by gruesome pictures which depicted the savagery of the attack, Malone, now fully recovered, told the story of her attack.

A man who had been in her office before accompanied by his family, came back alone and insisted on being shown houses. Malone felt uneasy and asked him to make an appointment for the next day. She accompanied the man to several homes, not realizing that in one home's kitchen, he had stolen a knife. Asking her to drive him to a home they had seen previously, he attacked her as soon as they walked in the door. Chilling police photos of the blood-stained room where her "buyer" broke her back and slashed her throat, and of Malone bandaged and unconscious in the ICU provided ample illustration that Malone's attacker fully intended to leave her for dead.

She lived through the ordeal, and has gone back to selling homes. In her spare time, she makes herself available to the media to champion agent safety. So far, she has unsuccessfully campaigned Realtor Associations to support her idea of having buyers submit to a criminal background check before being allowed to view homes.

One Realtor who saw the segment, Nora Ling Lane of Dallas, said, "It's one thing to read about it in the papers, and another to see it on TV. The message really hit home. We all need to be more careful. "

Also See the Real Times Special Report originally run on November 10, 1997 - Every REALTORS Nightmare

Published: January 30, 1999

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.