Richmond mansion that was focus of legal battle is razed

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) – A 140-year-old mansion that was the subject of a long legal fight between its owner and the city of Richmond has been leveled in the eastern Indiana city.

The Palladium-Item reports that crews razed the brick, three-story building during the past week.

The former Sharon E. Jones mansion had sat empty since a 2004 fire and had been battered by trespassers, vandals and the elements.

The demolition work was ordered by the city of Richmond as part of a two-year legal battle with an Ohio man who owned the mansion in the city about 65 miles east of Indianapolis.

Richmond’s Unsafe Building Commission ordered the home repaired or removed in April 2013, sparking a series of lawsuits, appeals and legal protests.

All of those were denied by the courts.