Agents around the country are rallying to raise money for a Keller Williams Realtor who was brutally attacked at an open house this Saturday.
Lenora Farrington
On the afternoon of June 20, Kellers Williams Realty agent Lenora Farrington was showing an open house at Mariners Landing Subdivision in Huddleston, Virginia, when a man walked in and attacked her. According to the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, Farrington was moved to a nearby hospital after getting hit with what was likely a blunt object.
“She had visible head injuries is what she had, and it appeared to be done by a blunt object,” Bedford County Sheriff Mike Miller told ABC News. “She was awake and she was talking to us and she spoke to the dispatchers.”
Amid an ongoing investigation into the attack takes place, the police arrested 34-year-old Dustin Holdren of Roanoke on charges of aggravated malicious wounding which, in Virginia, means the “malicious shooting, stabbing, cutting, or wounding of another person with the intent to maim, disfigure, disable or kill resulting in severe injury and permanent and significant physical impairment.”
As news of the attack against Farrington broke, agents expressed outrage and sympathy. By Monday morning, nearly $90,000 had been raised to help cover Farrington’s medical fees while outpourings of support came in from all over the US as well as some from Canada and the UK.
“[Farrington] is the sole provider of her home and moved here for a new life, only to have a vicious man walk in and steal her beautiful innocence,” friend and fellow Keller Williams agent Teresa Grant wrote in a GoFundMe page launched to support her colleague. “We can’t take away her physical and mental pain, but we can be here to make her feel safe without financial worry.”
Attacks against real estate agents, particularly at open houses, regularly make headlines. While safety advocacy groups recommend agents do not host them alone and scan visitors for verbal and non-verbal body cues, others in the industry have argued that they are inherently dangerous and should be replaced with alternatives such as digital showings.
“I do not know this agent personally, but as a full-time agent for 27 years, I understand the inherent risks of our careers,” agent Lana Cary wrote on Farrington’s fundraiser page. “This is horrific and I pray for her full recovery.”
