WHEN STEVIE ALLMAN WAS hospitalized for first- and second-degree burns on her arms and legs, her neighbors were stunned. The 52-year-old woman was part of an anti-drug campaign in her working-class section of Oakland, Calif. She blamed her injuries on drug dealers who had firebombed her home. Well-wishers donated $4,700. White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey reportedly sent a letter. Gov. Pete Wilson put up a $50,000 reward.
And it appears to have been a scam.
Last Tuesday, two weeks after the fire, police found a dismembered body in the house's freezer. Crunched into a four-foot-long metal box sealed with duct tape, the decomposed body turned out to be Allman, with her head bashed in. The woman with the burns was Sarah Mitchell, Allman's 47-year-old sister. Mitchell was arraigned last week for forgery, and this week authorities are expected to announce whether she'll also be charged with murder. Investigators now think her injuries were splash burns that came from setting a fire. Her lawyer says she will plead not guilty to any charges.
Posing as Allman (whom she closely resembled), Mitchell had been the anti-drug activist; police think Allman had been dead for a month. ""No one was pleased Sarah was moving in [to Allman's house],'' Lee Kitchens, a third sister, told NEWSWEEK. When the family hadn't heard from Allman, they called the police, who fingerprinted Mitchell. She confessed to the impersonation.
Mitchell has been in trouble before. The fingerprints that clinched her identity came from a 1971 arrest for prostitution, and her family says she was an alcoholic and drug addict who stole from them and had forged Allman's name. But, says Kitchens, ""we all forgive each other. We all love each other.'' Still, she has to wonder if Mitchell was her sister's keeper and killer, too.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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