It has come to be known as the Spooky House Incident: A group of teenagers in this quaint older suburb who tried to scare themselves on a "ghost hunt" and a recluse who responded with gunfire, leaving two lives wrecked. A pretty blonde high school cheerleader, Rachel Barezinsky, is crippled for life. Allen S. Davis, roused from an eccentric but otherwise unoffending existence, was sentenced last month to 19 years in prison for what he describes as defending his home.
A year after the shots were fired, the bizarre case has left residents around Columbus torn. While plenty of people felt Davis got what he deserved for overreacting to teenager antics, many others saw the girls as picking on Davis and facing no legal consequences for trespassing. The story began at 10 p.m. on August 22, 2006, when Barezinsky and two other girls sneaked a few feet onto Davis' property -- lighting the way with their cell phones -- to scare themselves because they thought the house was spooky. They jumped in the car after their friend honked. What they thought were firecrackers as they drove off were shots from a rifle Davis, then 40, said he had purchased to scare away frequent prowlers.When the girls rounded the block to check out the noise, a bullet struck Barezinsky, then 17, in the shoulder and head. Her left arm and leg were paralyzed. (CNN)
