Will Billboard Solve Cold Case?

ST. PETERSBURG – Kelley Osman hangs on to every scrap of information she can find on the 1991 killing of her uncle, John Spivey, his wife, Nancy Spivey, and their landlord, James Row.

But Osman said there are few clues to the triple homicide in St. Petersburg, nor did detectives disclose much from the investigation 20 years ago.

“The Spiveys were from a lower income bracket. The case was not a priority,” said Osman from her South Carolina home. “Our family has been in a kind of limbo all these years.”

Now a partnership between Crime Stoppers of Pinellas County and Clear Channel Outdoor is giving hope to the Spiveys' relatives as well as others whose family members were victims of unsolved crimes.

Six cold cases from Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park will be highlighted on billboards across the county. The billboards, which were donated and produced by Clear Channel Outdoor, will remain in place for eight weeks.

Officials hope the high-visible reminders of the tragic incidents will jog the memories of people who may have information.

Leads and information can be called in anonymously, but there are rewards of up to $1,000 offered for any tips that result in arrests, said Susan Fraley, project administrator for Crime Stoppers.

“These are cases that … are no longer generating any tips,” Fraley said. “So hopefully this will be something that the right person will see.”

The billboard on the triple homicide of the Spiveys and Rowe will be at 1st Avenue and 14th Street North from Aug. 8 to Oct. 2.

In 1991, Nancy and John Spivey and their friend, James Row, were found killed in the home they shared on First Avenue South and 23rd Street. According to St. Petersburg Police Major Michael Kovacsev, the three were bludgeoned to death while they slept early Jan. 10, 1991.

Osman said that her uncle John and his wife had spent the night drinking and playing cards with Row. She said that the Spiveys rented a room from Row, who was their landlord. Detectives have simply described the three as friends who shared a home together.

Osman said that her uncle and his wife were temporary laborers. He worked construction. She said that her uncle had originally left North Carolina to start afresh and get away from bad influences. She said that John and Nancy had a young child, who was with a neighbor when the homicides occurred.

“Uncle Johnny was the center of our world growing up,” Osman said. “I had been hoping to reconnect with him in Florida in 1991, when I got a letter from my sister stating that he had been murdered.”

Osman, 40, said her family has had many questions over the years, since there were few clues as to what happened.

"The murders have never been solved and no justice ever given for them or their family members that have to live each day without the sound of their voices or being able to see the smiles on their faces," states a web site the Spivey family created to honor John and Nancy.

Osman said the family never was able to get any of his personal belongings or Nancy’s belongings from the room they rented. She said that photos she has of her uncle in his casket at the funeral indicate that he was beaten severely before he died.

“We hope whoever did this will be brought to justice,” Osman said. “There must be someone out there who knows something.”

Osman said she and other relatives have been hoping for years that new attention will be brought to the case.

"Someone or some people have had to live with this guilt for years," she said. "Perhaps the person that did this told someone else. Maybe this (billboard) will be the spark that brings someone forward."