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Plans for the Beverly Hills Supper Club site move forward Campbell County commission unanimously approve zone change Julia Fair Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Liam Collins, 15, of Fort Mitchell, Ky. rakes up the Old Boone County Infi rmary Cemetery (also known as the Boone County Poor House) in Burlington, Ky. on Saturday, July 11. Collins decided to clean up the overgrown land for his Eagle Scout Service Project. The cemetery has many unmarked graves and one marked grave of a cold case murder victim, Leslie Sparrow. "Everybody should be remembered after death" Collins said. PHOTOS BY GRACE PRITCHETT/THE ENQUIRER
41 years later, murder victim gets tombstone
Lesley Sparrow, 35, was lured to her death in ‘79. Her murder remains unsolved Amber Hunt Cincinnati Enquirer
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USA TODAY NETWORK
or the families of victims killed in unsolved murders, life has been at a standstill for a long time, even before the pandemic arrived. h Over the next several weeks, The Enquirer will highlight a series of cold cases, summarized and analyzed by the journalists whose careers largely focus on unsolved murders: the creators of Cincinnati.com’s Accused podcast. If you have any information on any unsolved case, please reach out to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Suggestions for cases to highlight can be sent to accused@enquirer.com. The crime: When 15-year-old Liam Collins decided to clean up an overgrown cemetery in Boone County, Kentucky, this year, he had no idea he’d soon be learning about a murder mystery. At the mystery’s center is Lesley Sparrow, a busy businesswoman described as sassy and independent, successful and confi dent – with the spirit of a daredevil to boot. So when the 35-year-old received an invitation in the fall of 1979 to partake in her fi rst skydiving show in Arizona, she eagerly accepted and packed her bags. But it turned out the end to Sparrow’s story was the kind you see in horror movies. The invitation had been fake, apparently staged by someone with designs to kill. Sparrow’s lifeless body was discovered in the trunk of her own car on Sunday, Oct. 14, 1979, in a vicious slaying that remains unsolved. The volunteer: Usually in this space, we highlight cases suggested by family members or law-enforcement offi cials still haunted by a mystery they desperately want solved. Not so this time. Sparrow, who had no family nearby and only coworkers grieving her locally, had been so forgotten that her body was buried within the overgrown confi nes of the Boone County Infi rmary Cemetery. That property, which for 100 years had gone by the more straightforward title of “Poor House,” housed dozens of indigent people unable to aff ord to live on their own. The Burlington property today abuts the county’s animal shelter on Idlewild Road, which is how Sparrow’s story reached Liam Collins.
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The current grave marker belonging to Leslie Sparrow, who was murdered and found in the trunk of her car in 1979. As part of his Eagle Scout Service Project Liam Collins is replacing it with a tombstone.
Liam’s brother, 17-year-old Aidan Collins, had adopted the animal shelter as his Eagle Scout service project – meaning he led a volunteer eff ort last year to clean up the shelter’s land as he advanced from Life to Eagle Scout. As they cleared away brush, they uncovered a sign for the infi rmary cemetery hidden along a fence. Liam made a mental note because he was looking for a service project of his own to lead this year. “In the process of getting signatures to start work on the project, we had to go out with a few representatives from Boone County,” Liam said as he worked to clean the site last weekend. Those county reps had pointed out a bizarre marker crafted of refl ective aluminum and galvanized metal that read simply: “Lesley P. Sparrow, 5/27/44-10/14/79.” “They said, ‘Do you see that grave? She’s actually a murder victim. It’s a cold case,’ ” recalled Liam, who quickly expanded his project to raise money for a more traditional granite tombstone that he hopes “will stand the test of time.” See COLD CASE, Page 4A
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The day after Darla McCollister wed at the Beverly Hills Supper Club, she hoped everyone would call her back to tell her they survived the deadly fi re. One didn’t, she told the room of people at the Southgate Community Center July 14. McCollister, 64, clutched her wedding album as she explained why she opposed parts of the proposed $64 million mixed-use development for the 80-acre site. It’s where the fi re scorched her dress, killed 167 people and injured more than 200 people over Memorial Day weekend in 1977. On July 14, the Campbell County zoning commission, which reviews projects like this for cities within the county, unanimously approved the zone change the developers needed to move the project forward. Some residents supported the project and said its the best future for the property. But, many residents expressed concern about the location of the fi re victims memorial. In May, Southgate City Council entered into a joint agreement with the Edgewood, Ky.-based construction fi rm Ashley Builders and Cincinnatibased Vision Realty Group to develop the land. McCollister was one of a dozen community members to share what adjustments they’d like to see for the proposed project that includes apartments, homes and a long term senior center. The proposed project includes plans for a memorial to be built at the bottom of the hill of the development to remember those who died in the fi re. The location of the memorial was the main concern community members had. Residents said they want the memorial to be on top of the hill where the cabaret room within the club once stood. It’s where most of the people died, McCollister explained. Right now, the plan is to have a park there that wouldn’t be a public park, according to the proposed development plan. Other residents who opposed the proposed plan asked for an updated traffi c study and an environmental study. Many wanted the land to be surveyed to see if any human bodies remain.
What’s the plan for the site? The mixed-use site, called Memorial Point, would take about fi ve years to build. Construction is estimated to begin in fall 2021. Here’s what the 80-acre site will have: 89 single-family, two- to four-bedroom homes that will be off ered starting in the upper $300,000 range. i 100 to 200 apartments that will cost $1,100 to $2,000 a month with amenities that include a pool, indoor exercise facility and event center. i Up to 90 residential units in a forprofi t assisted living facility that will cost $3,000 to $6,000 a month.
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See BEVERLY HILLS , Page 2A
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