DERELICT HOME THE SCENE OF A GHOST HUNTER SHOOTING TO GET REPRIEVE

The derelict home

The home has a long and troubled history, from an owner who let it fall into disrepair to its spooky reputation that led to the shooting of a local teenager.
Now, the city of Worthington wants to buy it, not because of its stigma, but because of its blight.
“It had been a long, slogging parcel of concern,” said Jeffry Harris, the city’s economic-development manager. “You get blight, vandalism ... it usually represents good bang for the buck to get government involved from a public-policy perspective.”
The city has applied for a $250,000 federal HOME Program block grant through Franklin County to buy, rehabilitate and resell 141 Sharon Springs Dr. The program is administered by the federal Housing and Urban Development agency.

Shooter - Allen Davis after arrest

In a memo to the city manager, Harris described the property as “vacant and abandoned, serving as a marker of blight in an otherwise viable neighborhood.”

Victim - Rachel Barezinsky

The owner, Sondra Davis, for years refused city orders to mow and weed the property, arguing that it was natural. She died in the home two years ago. Her son, Allen Davis, 45, the heir, is serving a 16-year sentence in Chillicothe Correctional Institution for shooting at a group of teens who had approached the home in August 2006 and ran from it as a prank.
Rachel Barezinsky was shot in the head as the group drove away. She survived but has struggled to regain a normal life.
If granted the funds, Worthington would approach Davis and ask whether he would consider selling the home to the city, Harris said.
If he chose not to sell, the city could abandon the project and return the money. If Davis were to agree, the city would rehab it and resell it.

Source: dispatch.com