With the real estate market in the cellar, some people are coming up with creative ways to sell their homes.
Take, for instance, the case of Drew Peterson. Peterson is accused of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio and suspected of killing his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.
Stymied by the market and hobbled by a home equity loan that was pulled by JP Morgan Chase, the alleged killer wants to auction his home to make money for his trial.
But he’s not gunning for a typical buyer. Drew’s lawyer, Walter Maksym, wants to sell the home to a news organization as a base camp for covering the trial.
"It would be a perfect place for someone like Geraldo Rivera. Don't you think?" Maksym told the Sun-Times.
The lawyer said selling the home to a place like Fox News could spare Illinois taxpayers from subsidizing the Peterson trial.
"If he can't pay for his own defense, the taxpayers could wind up paying for the enormous cost of the defense," Maksym said.
"I'm not handling his murder case. I'm working with his attorney Joel Brodsky, who is vigorously defending him, and we are looking for any way possible to raise money so Peterson won't be denied a fair trial. The bank severed his credit line because Peterson is being detained for trial, and we believe it violates federal law."
The plan, however, could be a non-starter. Chicago auctioneer Leslie Hindman said she has no interest in facilitating a “weird” auction like that.
Stacy Peterson's family hasn't given up hope they'll learn what happened to her, and said the idea of renting the home she lived in is like a slap in the face.
"We don't even have any answers yet as to what happened to her. It's still her home and he claims that she's going to come home someday, that she just ran off with another man, so I think that's still her house, and I think that should still say that way for now," said Stacy Peterson's stepsister, Kerri Simmons.
