Offer said to be on table for $1.1 million Truro house
Patty
By EMILY C. DOOLEY
Cape Cod Times
April 3, 2004
The wood-shingled bungalow where freelance fashion writer Christa
Worthington was stabbed to death in January 2002 has a potential
buyer.
Though the final details of the sale won't likely be made public for
60 days, an offer has been made on the home, which was listed for $1.1
million, broker Nick Brown of Thomas D. Brown Real Estate Associates
said yesterday.
Brown would not divulge the amount of the offer on the four-bedroom,
two-bath home, nor would he identify the source of the offer.
Police, paramedics and family members converged on the home at 50
Depot Road on Jan. 6, 2002, after Worthington's ex-boyfriend Tim
Arnold found her dead in the kitchen, her then 21/2-year-old daughter
Ava by her side.
Worthington, 46, was stabbed in the chest and died within minutes,
according to Probate Court documents.
The case is still unsolved and no arrests have been made.
Police and Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said the
sale will not affect the investigation.
"The place has been thoroughly processed on many occasions," O'Keefe
said.
"We're all set with that," Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Bill Burke
said of the home. "We don't need anything there."
A rutted driveway winds through the woods to the 2,800-square-foot
home that overlooks Mill Pond and is within walking distance of Pamet
Harbor.
In the days after the crime, police guarded the scene to prevent
trespassers and keep the media away as the murder attracted national
attention. Police presence soon gave way to a no trespassing sign
where flowers would occasionally be placed.
It is not clear whether Brown disclosed the history of the house to
the potential buyer.
"We go strictly by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors guidance,
which is if asked directly, we verify. If not asked directly, we do
not," Brown said.
Citing confidentiality, Brown would not say if the potential buyer had
asked about the murder. "I can't answer any other way," he said.
Nor would he divulge whether the would-be purchaser was local or from
out of town.
"When the sale goes through, the buyer will be known," he said. "We're
still working through some issues."
Under state law, real estate agents are not required to tell clients
if a home has been the site of a murder.
"They don't have to disclose it," said Chuck Borstel assistant to the
director of the state Division of Professional Licensure. "I guess
what they're trying to say is it doesn't matter."
"I'd be a little spooked out," he added.
But Realtors also abide by a code of ethics and regulations set forth
by the National Association of Realtors. The guidelines are general
and vary among states because real estate laws differ, spokeswoman
Linda Johnson said.
Officials at the Massachusetts Association of Realtors could not be
reached for comment.
Realtor Joan Whitter of Cotton Real Estate in Osterville, said murder
is considered not material by state law and the Massachusetts Realtors
code of ethics was amended in 1993 to say only pertinent facts must be
disclosed to buyers.
That means a seller would have to grant permission before something
such as a murder was divulged to prospective buyers. "Personally, I
would probably have permission to disclose that," Whitter said. "I
wouldn't want that to come back on me."
Ava Worthington was the sole heir to her mother's estate, which was
initially estimated to be $700,000. But the sale of the house and
settlement of a $750,000 life insurance policy could raise that
amount, which is held in trust.
Christopher Worthington, the victim's father, is the executor of the
trust, along with Cape Cod Bank & Trust. He could not be reached for
comment.
As the sale moves forward, there is still no answer to who killed the
Vassar graduate, who traveled in the fashion world, living in London,
Paris and New York City, only to settle down in Truro where her family
had roots for generations.
Police have conducted more than 100 interviews, taken DNA samples and
administered lie detector tests. Among the people questioned were the
victim's father, her ex-boyfriend Arnold and Anthony Jackett, the
married man with whom she had an affair that produced Ava. Jackett and
Arnold came under intense police scrutiny.
After the murder, Jackett and Cohasset resident Amyra Chase wrangled
over custody of Ava. The battle ended with a shared-custody agreement.
Ava Worthington lives primarily with Chase, who Worthington named as
guardian months before she died.
Arnold had been listed in an October 2000 will as a beneficiary of up
to $250,000 if he survived Ava and Christopher Worthington. But, two
months before she died, Christa Worthington cut Arnold out of the will
and named Chase as guardian.
A year after Christa Worthington was killed, O'Keefe announced a
$25,000 reward and revealed that police were searching for the
identity of a man who had sex with her just before she died. Nothing
substantial has been reported to date.
"The matter continues to be the focus of continuous investigative
efforts," O'Keefe said.
The investigation attracted national attention. A literary nonfiction
book about the crime was released last year and at least two movie
deals have been inked.