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In 1997, Sarah Mitchell’s shocking crime in Oakland, California, stunned the nation. The single mother, facing financial ruin, murdered her sister, Stevie Allman, in a calculated act driven by greed. Mitchell not only killed her sister but also dismembered her body, set their home ablaze to cover her tracks, and impersonated Stevie to access her money and deceive the community.
This chilling case of betrayal, marked by meticulous planning and manipulation, unraveled through diligent police work and family intervention. Mitchell’s actions left a lasting impact, exposing the depths of her deception. Her trial, concluding in 2000, revealed the full extent of her crimes. Sarah is in prison, serving a life sentence without parole.
The case was detailed in Oxygen’s Snapped in 2022, and will re-air on July 24, 2025, on Oxygen or streaming platforms like Peacock.
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Five key details from Sarah Mitchell's crime
1) Premeditated murder for financial gain
Sarah Mitchell, struggling financially after a divorce, targeted her sister Stevie Allman’s trust accounts. On June 30, 1997, while Stevie slept in their Oakland home, Sarah bludgeoned her to death. The act was deliberate, driven by the intent to steal Stevie’s funds. After the murder, Sarah accessed thousands of dollars from Stevie’s accounts, exploiting their physical resemblance to facilitate the theft, as per Oxygen.
The prosecution later highlighted that Sarah’s dire financial situation, coupled with her knowledge of Stevie’s assets, motivated the crime. This calculated killing marked the beginning of a series of deceptive acts to cover her tracks and profit from her sister’s death, revealing a chilling disregard for familial bonds.
2) The murder of Stevie Allman
Following the murder, Sarah Mitchell dismembered Stevie Allman’s body to conceal her crime. She stored the remains in a freezer at their shared Oakland residence. As per Oxygen, evidence later uncovered by investigators, including blood spatter and saw marks in the bathroom and bedroom, confirmed the gruesome act that Sarah killed Stevie in her bedroom and dismembered her body in the bathroom.
This horrific step was intended to prevent immediate discovery of Stevie’s death, allowing Sarah to continue her deception. The dismemberment underscored the lengths to which Sarah went to hide her crime, adding a layer of brutality to an already heinous act. The physical evidence in the home became critical in piecing together the timeline of the murder.
3) Arson to destroy evidence
To further cover her tracks, Sarah Mitchell set fire to the Oakland home she shared with Stevie. She ignited the house twice, with the second fire on July 1, 1997, causing significant damage. Sarah claimed the blaze was an attack by drug dealers targeting Stevie, who she falsely portrayed as an anti-drug activist, as reported by Oxygen.
This fabricated story misled authorities and the public, delaying suspicion. The arson was a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence of the murder, including the dismembered remains and blood traces. According to the article by Oxygen, fire investigators later determined the fires were intentionally set, as the broken glass of the window was found outside, not inside, linking them to Sarah’s efforts to obscure her crime.
4) Deceptive impersonation
After the murder, Sarah Mitchell impersonated Stevie Allman to maintain the illusion that her sister was alive. While recovering from burns in the hospital, Sarah continued the ruse, interacting with authorities, media, and the community as Stevie.
This deception persisted until her sister Leotta Belleville filed a missing person’s report for Stevie Allman and insisted that the woman in the hospital was Sarah, not Stevie. When the investigator asked for ID verification, they saw Stevie IDs in Sarah's wallet, which led to fingerprint analysis that confirmed Sarah’s true identity.
Sarah was arrested for forgery, and later on November 21, 2000, she was found guilty of killing her sister Stevie. Sarah was charged with first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole, as reported by Oxygen.
5) Community manipulation
Sarah Mitchell manipulated the Oakland community by crafting a false narrative about Stevie’s death. Posing as her sister, she claimed drug dealers targeted Stevie due to her supposed anti-drug activism, a story that gained national attention and even prompted a call from the White House. This lie not only deflected suspicion but also exploited community goodwill, leading to donations meant for Stevie’s recovery, as per Oxygen.
The betrayal was particularly stark given Stevie’s reputation as a kind, supportive sister. Sarah’s actions eroded public trust, as the community rallied around a fabricated tragedy, unaware of the true crime. Her eventual exposure shocked those who had believed her story.
Watch the case of Sarah Mitchell's crime in Snapped, available on Oxygen.
