The man accused of abducting and killing Beverly Carter has told reporters that he targeted her because she was a woman, on her own and an estate agent.

Police in Askansas have also confirmed that Arron Lewis, 33, was the prospective home buyer that Mrs Carter went to meet.

Lewis told reporters that he targeted her because she was “a woman that worked alone – a rich broker”.

At a press conference, Captain Simon Haynes, lead investigator on the case, described the agent as “a target of opportunity” for Lewis.

Arron Lewis has appeared in a court in Arkansas. He denies murder.

Lewis, 33, told reporters as he was being taken from the jail to the sheriff’s office that he did not kill Mrs Carter.

Authorities said that Lewis admitted during 12 hours of questioning on Monday that he abducted her.

Hundreds of people spent nearly five days helping in the search after Mrs Carter went missing, apparently while on a viewing appointment with a prospective purchaser she had never met.

In reality, it has been revealed that Lewis was a convicted thief out on parole.

The case – thankfully, a rarity – does serve as a reminder to agents that there is nothing more important than their own people, and to have systems in place to protect those who go out to viewings on their own.

The murdered woman’s employers are now insisting that all prospective viewers are vetted in the office beforehand.