Oakland drug fighter may be murderer

Stevie Allman, was a hero to her Oakland, Calif., neighbors for being an
antidrug crusader unwilling to let dealers rule their neighborhood.

When her home was destroyed from what she described as a firebomb lobbed by
angry drug dealers July 1, people rallied and donated thousands of dollars
while she recovered from burns.

Gov. Pete Wilson offered a $50,000 reward a week ago for information
leading to convictions in the case.

Now police say much of the story was a lie. For starters, they say the
woman who said she was Stevie Allman, 52, is her sister, Sarah Allman, 47,
and that Sarah may have murdered Stevie.

Wednesday, the coroner said a badly decomposed and dismembered body police
found in a freezer of the burned home was Stevie Allman.

And police say Sarah may have burned the home herself to hide the murder.

As for who the antidrug activist was: "It could have been Stevie. It could
have been Sarah. It could have been both," said Oakland Police Capt. Peter
Dunbar.

"Right now it's up in the air."

Sarah Allman is in jail and will be formally charged with murder today. She
also will be charged with forgery for assuming her sister's name to accept
a check for more than $3,000 from sympathetic donors, he said.

Police believe Sarah Allman may have killed her sister to cash her pension
checks and for other financial reasons.

Gov. Wilson described the turn of events as "bizarre."

Stevie and Sarah, who lived together for 20 years, were five years apart in
age but looked so much alike some thought they were twins.

Bob Van Vleet, 74, who lived a few blocks away and helped with the
antidrug crusade, said he knew Sarah. But "I'm not sure if she is alive or
who is the dead one," he said.

Stevie Allman was liked by many in the workingclass neighborhood. She
provided videotapes she had taken of drug transactions to police for the
past couple of years.

Some time during that period, Sarah began to take on Stevie's identity,
cashing checks in her name, Dunbar said.

On June 19, a small fire damaged the home, and a woman police thought was
Stevie Allman said vengeful drug dealers had done it.

Then, on July 1, a fire destroyed the small home. Sarah, claiming to be
Stevie, was burned and taken to a hospital.

Family members tipped police to the identity switch. When they reviewed the
case, they noted that Sarah Allman's burns were "splash burns" common on
arsonists. Tuesday she admitted to the fraud.

By Bonna M. de la Cruz, USA TODAY