It was in this old Uniontown, Albama home where 13-year-old Allan Lucy was murdered by his adoptive father in 1985. For nearly ten years the murder was covered up, and stories were fabricated that Lucy had run away one night, taking all of his belongings with him.

Allan Lucy lived in this home with his adoptive parents, Philip and Margaret Lucy, and their biological son, Jason. Allan was born Allan Marvel to his biological parents Willard and Ardella Mae Naragon Marvel in Florida. When his parents divorced, Allan was removed from their home by child services and sent to live with Philip and Margaret, who had adopted him at the age of seven. 

Late one night, an altercation broke out in the kitchen between Allan and Philip. In an angered rage, Philip struck Allan in the head. Jason watched from an adjacent room as Allan fell to the ground. His father noticed him looking around the corner, and ordered him immediately to go to his room. Moments later, Jason snuck from his room to look out a front window, and noticed his father walking around outside, covered in dirt and carrying a shovel. Jason tried to tell as many people as he could, but nobody would believe his story. Philip and Margaret had convinced everyone in town that Allan had run away to Florida with friends. It wasn’t until nine years later that the child’s remains were found beneath the front porch of the home.   

Philip and Margaret put their home up for sale after a fire destroyed parts of the home in 1993. It was purchased almost immediately in October of that year by a man named Kelly Kirby, a resident of Washington who had a passion for restoring old homes. Shortly after purchasing the home, Kirby sent a team in early 1994 to inspect it for structural damages. While inspecting the foundation for termite damage, the team of inspectors came across what they were least expecting.

As they dug around the front porch of the home, one of the inspector’s rakes struck a large root, becoming stuck. Local stories had been passed around over the years of the possibility of treasure being buried beneath the house, so out of curiosity, he started to dig deeper in hopes he would find something. Digging down, he came to a layer of red bricks. Excited that he had just found the fabled treasure buried beneath the home, he started to dig up the bricks, only to find a trash bag beneath them. Unwrapping the bag, the crew found the remains of Allan Lucy, wrapped in a child’s Disney blanket, buried alongside a collection of his toys and other items.

A week earlier, Allan’s adoptive parents had been arrested on charges of suspected arson for the fire that had damaged the house prior to the sale. It was believed that they had set the house on fire themselves to claim $119,000 on an insurance policy they had purchased only a month prior to the fire.

Authorities were sent to the house to perform a thorough inspection all around the property. They questioned family members, and completed their investigation, finally after nearly a decade, charging Philip Lucy with the 1985 murder of his son, Allan Lucy.

Jason testified against his father in court during the first court trial. Despite what Jason had told the court, Judge Jack Meigs decided to reduce Philip’s bail from $150,000 to $100,000. The case was then turned over to the Perry County Grand Jury. It was ruled that his wife was an accessory to the murder, and she was allowed to return home to care for her children. Shortly after he was accused of Allan’s death, Marageret divorced Philip, but died shortly after of cancer in December 1998. Over the course of the following five years, Philip was sent to numerous mental hospitals on study for whether or not his mental state deemed him fit to stand trial in court. His story changed many times over the course of the trial, as he attempted to stall the case for as long as he could. Philip claimed to not be mentally unstable, adding “if anybody’s going to have angel wings one day, it’s going to be me.” He protested that his son made up the story about the night in the kitchen in 1985, claiming that the Alabama Bureau of Investigation was out to get him, and forced Jason to tell lies.Up until the trial, Allan’s biological mother had no idea Allan had been reported missing. Once they learned of his body being discovered, she and her husband Robert Leasure would attend every day of the second trial.

Throughout the entire trial, Philip claimed not guilty, and had even claimed that, despite being proven by authorities, the remains were not Allan’s. When the court looked deeper into Philip’s file, it showed that he had a violent history, and was dishonorably discharged from the army during the Korean War for beating a soldier. This made things worse for Philip, though the trial continued on into 1997, when it was finally decided that Philip Lucy would be found guilty of the murder of Allan Lucy.

Philip appealed the verdict, but failed to see any change, and a second verdict in 2001 still found him guilty. The day after, Philip hung himself with a bedsheet inside of his jail cell. Following his death, funds were put together by residents of Perry County, allowing Allan Lucy a proper burial at Rosemont Cemetery in Uniontown.  

The historic home, also known as the Hardie-Coleman house by the National Park Service, was constructed in 1918. The historic home is part of the Uniontown Historic District, and is very strangely currently owned by the Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. The home is noted as one of the largest examples in the area of the Neo-Classical Revival architectural style. The home features a three-quarter width pedimented portico, supported by four large columns. Above a double leaf entrance at the front of the home is a semi-circular fanlight. On the second floor balcony, the home features French doors and around the house are a series of 9/9 double-hung-sash windows.

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