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eBay policy may scuttle county's plan to sell serial killer's cars
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
<!--BEGIN ARTICLE--> SPOKANE, Wash. -- Spokane County officials trying to sell two vehicles used by convicted serial killer Robert Yates are waiting for a ruling from the online auction service eBay.
To recover money spent to buy the 1977 Chevrolet Corvette and 1988 Chevrolet Sport Van as evidence, Spokane County last month announced it planned to sell them on the Internet.
Bela Kovacs, director of the county's purchasing department, said eBay contacted county officials and said the plan likely would violate an eBay policy against selling items used by serial killers.
Yates pleaded guilty in 2000 to the murders of 13 women in Spokane and was sentenced to 408 years.
A Pierce County jury later convicted Yates of two more murders, for which he received the death penalty. He is on death row at the Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla
The county is awaiting a written explanation about eBay policy before it decides how to sell the cars, Kovacs said. If eBay refuses to let it sell the cars on its site, the county likely will sell them in a sealed-bid auction conducted by the county or a private auctioneer.
County officials said they only want to recoup money spent on the investigation of Yates and to dispose of the cars.
"The intent is to not create any kind of attention that could be interpreted as profiting on the notoriety of the vehicles," Kovacs said.
Yates had sold both vehicles before his arrest, so the county's Office of Risk Management purchased them from their new owners so detectives could search them for evidence.
The Corvette cost $10,500, and the van cost $7,935.
Detectives found a shirt button in the car that belonged to one of Yates' victims. In the van, investigators found a blood stain that has not been linked to one of Yates' known victims.
The Corvette is being sold without seats or upholstery.
Harold Schechter, a professor of American literature and culture at Queens College in New York who has written several books about serial killers, said there is a market for items owned by infamous killers.
One Web site on Tuesday was selling a handwritten letter and an envelope signed by Yates for $100 each.
"People are fascinated by monsters. There's something about being connected to a real-life monster. It's the flip side of owning a saint's relic," Schechter said. "I don't see it as some kind of symptom that we're in a sick society, because this stuff has been going on forever."
Although there is a demand for serial killer items, Yates' association with the cars could reduce their value.
When Yates' home was auctioned after the family declared bankruptcy, the house didn't even get the opening bid of $77,555. The home was valued at about $122,000 on county tax rolls.
"I don't think the car's value is significantly different because of what happened in it," said Mitch Silver, president of Silver Collector Car Auctions in Spokane. "Maybe it's $1,000 more or $1,000 less."
Silver said that if he were holding an auction for one of the cars, he would not allow it to be marketed as Yates' vehicle.
"I would sell it as a car. I would make an outside mention of Yates," Silver said. "It's a fact that surrounds the car. But I think it is improper to suppose that that makes it more valuable."
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
<!--BEGIN ARTICLE--> SPOKANE, Wash. -- Spokane County officials trying to sell two vehicles used by convicted serial killer Robert Yates are waiting for a ruling from the online auction service eBay.
To recover money spent to buy the 1977 Chevrolet Corvette and 1988 Chevrolet Sport Van as evidence, Spokane County last month announced it planned to sell them on the Internet.
Bela Kovacs, director of the county's purchasing department, said eBay contacted county officials and said the plan likely would violate an eBay policy against selling items used by serial killers.
Yates pleaded guilty in 2000 to the murders of 13 women in Spokane and was sentenced to 408 years.
A Pierce County jury later convicted Yates of two more murders, for which he received the death penalty. He is on death row at the Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla
The county is awaiting a written explanation about eBay policy before it decides how to sell the cars, Kovacs said. If eBay refuses to let it sell the cars on its site, the county likely will sell them in a sealed-bid auction conducted by the county or a private auctioneer.
County officials said they only want to recoup money spent on the investigation of Yates and to dispose of the cars.
"The intent is to not create any kind of attention that could be interpreted as profiting on the notoriety of the vehicles," Kovacs said.
Yates had sold both vehicles before his arrest, so the county's Office of Risk Management purchased them from their new owners so detectives could search them for evidence.
The Corvette cost $10,500, and the van cost $7,935.
Detectives found a shirt button in the car that belonged to one of Yates' victims. In the van, investigators found a blood stain that has not been linked to one of Yates' known victims.
The Corvette is being sold without seats or upholstery.
Harold Schechter, a professor of American literature and culture at Queens College in New York who has written several books about serial killers, said there is a market for items owned by infamous killers.
One Web site on Tuesday was selling a handwritten letter and an envelope signed by Yates for $100 each.
"People are fascinated by monsters. There's something about being connected to a real-life monster. It's the flip side of owning a saint's relic," Schechter said. "I don't see it as some kind of symptom that we're in a sick society, because this stuff has been going on forever."
Although there is a demand for serial killer items, Yates' association with the cars could reduce their value.
When Yates' home was auctioned after the family declared bankruptcy, the house didn't even get the opening bid of $77,555. The home was valued at about $122,000 on county tax rolls.
"I don't think the car's value is significantly different because of what happened in it," said Mitch Silver, president of Silver Collector Car Auctions in Spokane. "Maybe it's $1,000 more or $1,000 less."
Silver said that if he were holding an auction for one of the cars, he would not allow it to be marketed as Yates' vehicle.
"I would sell it as a car. I would make an outside mention of Yates," Silver said. "It's a fact that surrounds the car. But I think it is improper to suppose that that makes it more valuable."
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com
