Dubbo real estate agent under fire for ‘inappropriate’ property listing joking about murdering partner
A New South Wales estate agent has been criticized for making shocking jokes in a property advert about the potential resident who murdered his husband.
An advertisement for a house in Tottenham, 90 miles west of Dubbo, asked potential buyers: “Does the sound of your husband/wife’s voice annoy you enough to fantasize about their possible murder?”
The listing went on to say that the property has “a large, shaded porch in the back for outdoor seating…so you can sip wine in peace.”
It also boasted of a huge garden that has ‘enough room to bury a body’, and that a fireplace could be used to ‘burn the evidence’.
An advertisement for a house in Tottenham joked about the murder of a partner and that the house had ‘a large shady veranda (sic) where they can be locked out…so you can drink wine in peace’
The property list, which has since been amended, has been rejected by domestic violence advocates
Domestic violence advocates have slammed the “inappropriate” comments.
Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon, director of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, questioned how the list could be published.
‘It’s terrible. I’m honestly shocked. “Men’s violence against women is a national crisis in Australia,” she said Yahoo News.
‘Fantasizing about killing your wife (or husband) and burying their body in the backyard is still pitched in 2023 as a funny one-liner that shows how far we have to go in achieving a safe community for women and girls.’
The list has since been amended, with controversial comments omitted.
The property ad jokingly tried to claim that the house had a fireplace to “burn the evidence” of a husband’s murder
Listing agent Averill Berryman of ABC Property said there was a strong response to the listing due to its ‘creative’ description.
“It didn’t even occur to me that this would be something that people would be upset about,” she said.
‘It had to be brutal. It was an ironic throwaway line.
‘No harm was intended and there was certainly no intention to incite any form of domestic violence or anything like that. If it offended some people, I apologize.”
Ms Fitz-Gibbon said six women had been murdered in Australia in the past month and the property list promoted “violence as a joke”.
“Community attitudes that condone and excuse violence are deeply problematic and help breed the disrespect and inequality that drives violence against women,” she said.
1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732
NSW Domestic Violence Line – 1800 656 463