Daily Real Estate News  |  March 21, 2008Ex-Con Admits Killing Real Estate Pro
An ex-convict admitted during his arraignment Thursday that he strangled a real estate practitioner who showed him a house in the small town of Cambridge, Wis.

James A. Hole, 34, of Brookfield, Ill., told the Jefferson County, Wis., judge that 71-year-old Ann B. Nelson first showed him a property that he expected to be a house but was in fact a vacant lot. Then she offered to show him a nearby property with a home on it, which was more costly.

Hole said Nelson angered him when she asked him why he was looking at a house he couldn't buy. He admitted to hitting Nelson twice on the head with a long metal object. He said she was still breathing when he left the house. That apparently worried him, so he returned and set the house on fire. While he was there, he stole Nelson's purse. Hole told the court he didn't intend to kill Nelson.

Hole was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, arson, and burglary.

Barry Luce, an owner of RE/MAX Community Realty in nearby Lake Mills, said Nelson had worked for the company for four years. Nelson posted on her page of the company's Web site that it was "a dream come true" to live and work in the area.

"Church and community are important aspects in my life, and it is rewarding to be involved in situations to help others who have needs," she wrote.

Source: The Associated Press (03/20/08)