Any Update on this Bizarre Murder Case?

[Old School TV]

The details are sketchy but i recollect it was a realtor who came to a house with a prospective buyer and than was murdered with a cane. Authorities pretty much ruled out any known enemies or matrimonial issues. At first, i thought maybe the wife could have done it for insurance or maybe an enemy? But nothing has surfaced to connect any dots? Having seen the show for 20 odd years that murder always seem to be a major mystery.

[Steve W.]

Originally Posted by Old School TV

The details are sketchy but i recollect it was a realtor who came to a house with a prospective buyer and than was murdered with a cane. Authorities pretty much ruled out any known enemies or matrimonial issues. At first, i thought maybe the wife could have done it for insurance or maybe an enemy? But nothing has surfaced to connect any dots? Having seen the show for 20 odd years that murder always seem to be a major mystery.

The realtor's name was Mike Emert. His case is still briefed in the Murder section on the official UM site and I'm sure the video is always available on the not-to-be mentioned site.

I've seen this before as well. If I had to guess, I think it was either someone who killed for the thrill of it and lived or knew the area well and knew that setting up an appointment with a realtor could be a way to get someone in a vulnerable position to make them their victim. Or it might have been a serial killer from the area. That's my guesses. Either way, I think they lived (or used to live) or knew that area very well and thought that the house where the murder took place would be a good spot in the neighborhood to get away with it.

[TracyLynnS]

http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/mur_mike_emert.htm


Was Mike the listing agent on that house, or did the killer pick him specifically? The UM site says that Mike showed the house to the guy the day before, and then met him again the day he was killed.

Did they ever suspect that Mike wasn't the target, but maybe the woman selling the house was. The officials looked into everything about Mike and who might want him dead, even going back to previous business dealings, but they found nothing.

Maybe there was a messy divorce going on with the homeowner, maybe she had an angry ex-boyfriend, or some other enemy. I know it's out of left field, but maybe the killer just wanted to lower the value of the house or make it harder to sell just to hurt the woman who was selling the house. There was also blood everywhere and the killer left the water running. All that would mean the homeowner would have a lot of work to do before she could get her house back in a viewable condition for potential buyers.

And did they look into mistaken identity? Maybe some other realtor named Mike was fooling around with this guy's woman and he killed the wrong man. That would help explain the 19 stab wounds, which makes the crime look very personal, as if the killer really hated this victim.

[TracyLynnS]

This is a 2004 article. (The murder happened in 2001.)

If robbery was the motive, it doesn't say if anything was taken from the house. Mike Emert's expensive watch, diamond wedding ring, cell phone, and wallet were taken. His Cadillac Escalade was left at the shopping center where he met with the killer that morning.

The article also mentions that his widow was going to go on the Montel Williams show to meet with a psychic. I assume that was Sylvia Browne. In all my "sylvia debunking" research, I don't remember running across her doing a reading of the Emert case.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/157331_oldmurder20.html

[cocytus]

Originally Posted by Old School TV

The details are sketchy but i recollect it was a realtor who came to a house with a prospective buyer and than was murdered with a cane. Authorities pretty much ruled out any known enemies or matrimonial issues. At first, i thought maybe the wife could have done it for insurance or maybe an enemy? But nothing has surfaced to connect any dots? Having seen the show for 20 odd years that murder always seem to be a major mystery.

Actually, they only BELIEVE that he was murdered w/ a knife or sword concealed in a cane rather than w/ a standard knife or sword. There's no evidence that this was the case.

IIRC, the murder was very amateurish given the number of wounds inflicted upon the victim and the evidence that was found on the scene. The killer also risked being seen arriving at and leaving the home.

The way that this was presented, I've always thought this was an amateur "hit" or a thrill killing in which the killer was lucky that he wasn't caught shortly afterward. I say this because the numerous wounds were unnecessary and not choosing a more remote area or removing the body to delay finding it are signs of an amateur.

[TracyLynnS]

Very interesting thread on WebSleuths with lots of info:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=106029

[cocytus]

Originally Posted by TracyLynnS

Very interesting thread on WebSleuths with lots of info:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=106029

Just read this. It's an interesting article if it hasn't been modified.

Here's where the police and I differ on our opinions of the crime (however they have more information than I do):

1) The number of stab wounds indicate an amateur. It simply doesn't take that many stab wounds to kill someone and anybody that was skilled in the use of a knife or sword would know that.

2) Using the ATM card and cell phone are definitely not the signs of a "pro." They don't say if any money was withdrawn, which of course, be impossible w/o his PIN. Also using the cell phone would almost certainly link the killer to the victim.
You have to assume that the ATM and cell phone usage aren't related to the case.

3) Returning to the area where he was picked up was an amateurish move by the killer as that would be the focal point of any investigation looking for him. Also there should be DNA, blood and fingerprints in the vehicle as well as witnesses to the car being parked at the shopping center.

4) If the killer was a "pro" there would be at least one obvious reason for somebody to have hired him. That they haven't found one after years of searching and they don't believe that his wife or business associates did it, then that almost rules out a "hit."

5) Not sure why the phone records of Steven's call didn't lead the police to his identity. Even if he used a payphone, there would still be records and somebody would have seen him on the phone.

I could be wrong....but this appears to be the work of a spree killer or a random act of violence.

[burbqueen]

This case is believed to be linked to a case featured on Americas most wanted. There was a guy leasing out his house and put an ad in the newspaper. He got a response from a man that walked with a limp and had a cain. The guy leasing had a girlfriend that got a look at the man briefly, but the would be renter was killed brutally and its never been solved.