Augustine auction held in trial’s shadow

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The late Kathy Augustine’s leather furniture set went for $3,000.

A picture of her with the first President Bush fetched $20.

The bed in which prosecutors say she was murdered sold for $60.

Many of the politician’s belongings were auctioned off Saturday, with the high bidders getting everything from furs and an extensive coin collection to a box of “Elect Kathy Augustine for Controller” campaign buttons.

About 200 people showed up at the estate sale held in Augustine’s 5,000-square-foot home. A giant election banner hung from the second-floor balcony and a big photo of the former controller beckoned a line of people looking to get inside.

Regular bargain hunters cast about the room with an appraiser’s eye. Longtime friends and political acquaintances came to get “a piece of Kathy’s legacy,” as auction coordinator Chris Munoz put it.

Strangers also arrived, drawn by curiosity or macabre fascination with the woman whose death is at the center of a murder trial with a made-for-television plot.

“I just feel it’s a privilege to be in the home,” whispered Lana Onassis, a Las Vegas resident who didn’t know Augustine but reads everything she can find on the murder trial.

She paid $40 for a framed picture of Augustine with Newt Gingrich. “I’ll find a place to put it in my house.”

The trial of Augustine’s husband, Chaz Higgs, began last week. Prosecutors allege that Higgs, 43, wanted out of his three-year marriage and injected his 50-year-old wife with the powerful muscle relaxant succinylcholine.

“It’s such a tragic story,” said Lee Envall, at the auction for a stake in Nevada history. “They’re pretty clever to make it this week.”

Family spokesman Mark Fierro said the date was selected because having all the items around was a painful reminder for Kathy Augustine’s daughter, Dallas, who will receive the proceeds of the sale. It was also key to hold it before July 4, when much of Las Vegas clears out, he said.

Dallas kept items with personal significance, including a large part of her Republican mother’s collection of elephant figurines, scarves and jewelry she wore regularly.

In addition to her Huntridge Circle house, Augustine had a home in Reno. That home was emptied, and the items were shipped here, including the bed where Chaz Higgs said he found his wife unconscious on July 8. Augustine died in the hospital three days later.

There was no mention Saturday of Augustine’s impeachment for using state resources on her campaign; her fight against ethics charges; her latest run for secretary of state.

Sudden death can smooth over life’s rough patches like little else.

Former Republican state Chairman Brian Scroggins came for “some memento to hang on my den wall. It’s a subtle way to say goodbye.”

He was high bidder on a signed Gerald Ford photo, some silver Kenny Guinn coins and a shirt signed by Charlie Daniels, of the Charlie Daniels Band.

Augustine was a collector, her friends said. Couple that with the political trappings and memorabilia, and there was plenty for all those there who wanted a keepsake. These included signed and dedicated books by conservative authors and commemorative Barbie Dolls from the 2000 Republican National Convention. Nonpolitical items included a signed photo of Rick Springfield and a book, “Fighting Flab After Forty.”

A 1999 Sacajawea dollar coin went for $5. Her 52-inch Sony television went for $425. A fox fur coat went for $500.

The auction pulled in more than $30,000, more than had been expected, Munoz said after a final tally.

Auctioneers respected the wishes of the family and did not advertise the history of the bed where Augustine was last conscious. The mattress and box springs were thrown out, and replaced. The man with the highest bid, who didn’t want to give his name, said he simply needed furniture.

Steve and Margie Day came from California for the auction. They had been friends of Augustine since she and Margie worked together as stewardesses.

The couple had their eyes on a black and white caricature of Augustine, the type done by boardwalk artists. It was dated 1997, when she was in the state Senate, two years before becoming the state’s first female controller.

In the drawing, Augustine was all big hair, big smile, with a glint in her eyes.

“That’s what we really want,” Margie said, looking around to make sure no one had noticed her interest.

When the item finally came up for sale in the afternoon, Margie Day was the only one to bid, winning a piece of her friend’s life for $5.