Becoming emotional as he walked up to the lectern, Carl Carter, son of slain real estate agent Beverly Carter, spoke Thursday about his mother and the legacy she left behind.
Carter addressed a crowd of Realtors during the annual Little Rock Realtors Association meeting and stressed, "What makes you awesome also makes you a target."
Beverly Carter's body was discovered bound with duct tape in a shallow grave in September 2014 in northern Pulaski County, days after her disappearance.
Carter said there are a lot of details that he would like to share about his mother's case, describing the killing as part of an "elaborate scheme."
Arron Lewis, 34, is charged with capital murder in the killing of Beverly Carter.
As he spoke about his mother's death, Carter raised up a roll of duct tape to the audience.
"I want you to visualize something is happening: You're showing your property and something just went wrong," he said as pieces of duct tape lay in front of the Realtors in attendance. "Your life just got turned upside down."
Carter used an object to symbolize how something seemingly "amazing" such as duct tape could "destroy you."
"When they kidnapped my mother, the whole intention… was to hold her for ransom, to get money out of our family," he said. "When they took her, they not only forgot her purse but they quickly realized that she only had $67 in her checking account — a huge miss."
After his mother's death, a number of initiatives have been encouraged to provide extra security measures to real estate agents.
"It's really important for us as an industry together united and [to] have consistent practices across the board," Carter said, adding that Realtors have to find a balance to avoid being fearful.
The Beverly Carter Safety Certified Offices program provides wall decals for real estate firms to use to show their emphasis on protecting agents.
Realtors Safe Harbor, a way for clients to meet with real estate agents in a safe location, provides mapping tools.
The project is a partnership between the Arkansas Realtors Association and security solutions company Real Agent Guard.
In the months since his mother's death, Carter has been working on pre-licensure to become a Realtor.
He said of working in real estate, "I've realized how much she had her hands full. I've taken on the role of Beverly Carter."