ABC News’ “20/20” will air the story Friday of San Antonio real estate agent Janice Tisdale, who barely escaped with her life four years ago after she was attacked by a client wielding a “tire thumper” in a $750,000 listing.
Today, Tisdale gives monthly safety lectures to new agents at the San Antonio Board of Realtors. She tells “20/20” that she never goes to a property alone, and always carries a gun.
ABC News also tracked down Tisdale’s attacker, Emilio Maldonado, who is serving a 60-year prison sentence for aggravated robbery. Maldonado says he was on drugs when he hit Tisdale over the head with a tire thumper, a small wooden bat used by truckers to check their tire pressure.
The kidnapping and slaying of Arkansas Realtor Beverly Carter last fall heightened concerns about agent safety, with real estate industry leaders debating whether stricter, mandatory procedures are needed to ensure that agents aren’t put in dangerous situations.
Tisdale’s story airs at 10 p.m. Friday on ABC News’ “20/20.”