RIVER FALLS, Wis. (WCCO) — A grieving mother asks the realty company to take the house where her three daughters were killed off the market.
Aaron Schaffhausen is accused of killing his three daughters — 11-year-old Amara, 8-year-old Sophie and 5-year-old Cecilia at their River Falls, Wisconsin home.
Their mother, Jessica, told Edina Realty she did not want their father benefiting from the sale of the home.
It was a letter from Jessica that led the real estate agent and the agency where she works to pull the home off the market.
The letter was very straight forward. It told of the horror that happened inside and how, if sold, would benefit the man accussed of murder.
The house on the corner of Ridgecrest Street and Morningside Avenue in River Falls is no longer for sale.
The four-bedroom home was where Jessica and her three daughters lived until July 10, when their father was arrested and charged with killing all three.
“Edina Realty was contacted by the grandmother of the victims,” said Maria Verven, spokesperson for Edina Realty.
Schaffhausen’s mother wanted the house sold.
But this letter written by Jessica, posted on a Facebook page dedicated to her girls, gave Edina Realty what they needed to walk away from the deal.
Jessica wrote, “What you may not have thought through in accepting this job is that if you do succeed in selling it, that you will allow their murderer to not only benefit financially but will also disquality him from the public defender he is using. Which means that the entire criminal trial process would be set back drastically.”
“We did not realize that Mr. Schaffhausen could actually benefit from the sale of the property and as soon as we realized that, Edina Realty pulled the listing,” Verven said.
The four-bedroom home in River Falls was listed for $229,900.
Jessica’s letter spoke of seeing the disclaimer form attached to the sale.
She said it vaguely implies what had happened in the home and does not, at all, let a potential buyer know that they will be essentially letting Aaron obtain tens of thousands of dollars.
Jessica wrote, “I understand that a sale is a sale for you but I needed to let you know exactly what you are contributing to and if you can still sleep at night with that knowledge then by all means move forward as your conscience dictates.”
Jessica signed the letter, “a grieving mother hoping for some kind of justice.”
Edina Realty has nothing to do with the sale of the home as of Friday.
Aaron Schaffhausen has a hearing on Wednesday, where both sides will review all the motions in the case. From there, his next appearance will be in front of a judge on Dec. 3.
