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Jensen and Holes: The Murder Squad Podcast explores real-life cold cases & mysteries. Each week ride shotgun with retired Cold Case Investigator Paul Holes & Investigative Journalist Billy Jensen as they attempt to solve an unsolved murder case using a variety of methods, from routine shoe-leather work to advanced technologies, like familial DNA searches & social media geotargeting & the skills of their listeners who send in tips & theories, becoming active members of The Murder Squad.


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The Unsolved Murder of Real Estate Agent Charlotte Fimiano

Unsolved Murder

Charlotte Fimiano, an aggressive and successful real estate agent, went by herself to show the four-bedroom contemporary, one of a handful of nice homes in a secluded part of Lower Saucon Township.

The next day police found her body in the home she had hoped to sell. She had been strangled and shot in the head.

Her unsolved killing, 24 years ago on September 11th, 1997, jolted the Lehigh Valley and quickly became a national story.

Her vulnerability -- she had been assigned "spur-of-the-moment" requests for property showings that day and was known for never wanting to pass up a potential sale -- led to drastic changes in the real estate business.

Within weeks of her violent death, Valley real estate companies offered security seminars that drew more than 100 salespeople, many of whom voiced fears about a serial killer stalking unescorted real estate agents.

Fimiano's employer, Weichert Realtors, offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of her killer. But after investigating hundreds of leads over a decade, state police have made no arrest.

The lead investigator, who declined to discuss motives and released only a few details, remains confident the case can be solved.

The perplexing case has led police down many paths: Did the killer target unescorted real estate agents? Was it someone who knew Fimiano? Could it have been a contracted hit?

Fimiano's sister, Bernadette Johnson of Phillipsburg, said people still ask who could have killed Charlotte.

"A death like hers is bad enough," Johnson said. "But all this time of not knowing it's awful."

Johnson said she doesn't think the police forgot about her sister's case, but she's frustrated no arrest has been made. Every few months after the slaying, police would gather family members to update them on the case. Johnson eventually told the police she no longer wanted to know.

"I said, "Once you have the person in front of me, call me. Until then, I can't live like this every day or I'd turn into a crazy person," she said. "To me, it was more heartbreaking to hear the same thing over and over from police."

An Ongoing Investigation

The day Fimiano was killed, someone called the Weichert Realtors office on Schoenersville Road in Bethlehem to see the $259,000 home with a Jacuzzi and two fireplaces at 2147 Chelsea Lane. The house, on a lush green 3.65-acre lot, sits at the end of a small private driveway, surrounded by hills and woods.

Fimiano, 40, made plans to meet the caller that afternoon. When her husband, Christian Fimiano, returned to the couple's Bethlehem Township home shortly before midnight that evening and his wife was not there, he called the police.

The next day, Fimiano's body was found inside the home in a pool of blood.

The national media soon descended to tell the story of a well-liked, hard-working woman who was killed while doing her job.

Fimiano's death sent shock waves through the Lehigh Valley's real estate community, where agents feared they were targets.

"We haven't had another Realtor hurt or killed in the area, and I know that was a huge concern at one point," said Cpl. Robert Egan, who has led the investigation since it started.

"We're not sure if that's the case, but it hasn't happened again."

Egan would reveal little about the case. He said no arrest warrants were ever issued and police have not recently re-tested any physical evidence.

Egan said police have "current, good" information about Fimiano's killing.

"I'm working on things I think could be related to the murder, but I don't know if we're any closer to the end," he said.

Egan declined to say if the police know who Fimiano was scheduled to meet. He said police have interviewed hundreds, including many real estate agents across the Lehigh Valley and dozens of Fimiano's friends, co-workers, family members, and neighbors in the Chelsea Lane neighborhood.

"It's still ongoing and even though it's 10 years old, we're still working on it and have been working on it since it happened," Egan said. "It's not one that I dust off every six months. There's a lot of work going into solving this."

Police have combed through fields and woods near the Chelsea Lane home and have reviewed Fimiano's personal papers and calendars.

The investigation has spanned other states as police try to determine if any other killings of real estate agents could be connected to Fimiano's case. Egan declined to comment on whether police have connected any other killings to Fimiano's.

Police probed a possible link to a similar unsolved homicide of an agent in Decatur, Ill. In 1994, Sherry Lewis was strangled in a house after making an appointment to show the property to a person she had never met.

Fimiano's killing was used to highlight the hazards of the real estate profession in newspaper stories published in Illinois, Ohio, and Tennessee.

As the years passed, the killing is one people still recall, Egan said.

"This is the case that everyone still asks me about," he said. "No matter how many other ones I solve, this is one people still remember."

(Source:)

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u/SuccessfulSide2414 avatar

Rumor has it that Charlotte was having an affair. I believe she went to the house to meet the person she was having an affair with and tried to break it off, or the person knew she was seeing someone and confronted her there. She was strangled with the telephone cord when she called for help, then shot in the back of her head, turned over and shot in her face. The person who did this was also familiar with the home, possibly another agent. The person was familiar with guns and is still alive and lived close to where the murder happened.

u/Fair-Sylvester avatar

An affair?!

u/SuccessfulSide2414 avatar

Yes. It's not been public knowledge, but it was either client or someone she worked with.

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u/Traditional-Sort-862 avatar
Edited

https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1997-09-20-3154517-story.html

Look into Sherry Lewis, very similar, 40 miles away from this one

[deleted]
[deleted]

What did husband do for a living?

u/SuccessfulSide2414 avatar

He was cleared and not a suspect. He worked in Phillipsburg, NJ and was at work when the crime was committed.

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