The tragedy of the DeLisle family
The normally quiet community of Wyandotte was jolted by a vehicle jumping off Eureka east of VanAlstyne and sinking into the Detroit River in June of 1989. Recovered alive from the sinking vehicle was Lawrence DeLisle, husband and father of four. Only he and his wife survived; his deceased children would be recovered later.
Despite initial claims of a leg cramp surfacing as DeLisle crossed Biddle Avenue, it was dismissed by investigators. The subsequent trial revealed DeLisle as a broken man drowning in debt, wishing to end the lives of himself and his entire family to lift self-guilt. Although defense attorneys argued vehmently that his Ford LTD was defective, a jury found him guilty of murder after a nine-hour deliberation. DeLisle ultimately appealed this decision. The U.S. Supreme Court would uphold the lower court decision would be upheld, and the 28-year-old DeLisle would spend the rest of his life behind bars.
PSI: Downriver’s version of Love Canal
Twenty-five years after the closure of a small oil refinery on Brownstown’s south end, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources examination of the Peters Road property unearthed nightmares not unlike those witnessed by residents of Niagara Falls, New York and the nearby Love Canal, which most likely inspired the modern environmental movement.
Petroleum Specialties Incorporated (PSI) owned sixty acres of land near the triple borders of Brownstown, Flat Rock and Woodhaven. Right across Peters Road by a block was the expanding Deerfield Estates trailer park.
Residents of Deerfield resembled their counterparts in New York in various ways, meaning they had no idea the conditions on a neighboring property were more toxic than those found earlier in the decade at the BASF South Works property, for instance. PSI had been an active oil refinery from sometime in the 1930s until 1964. Upon ceasing as an active refinery, it became a storage facility. Evidentally, the land was tossed aside as a figurative afterthought since at least the early 1970s, as the conditions found by the M-DNR were repulsive enough.
The inspection took place on June 15, 1989. Inside were a total of 38 bulk tanks, enough to handle 17 million gallons of oil… provided it stayed in the bulk tanks. The M-DNR found an open lagoon of petroleum, high PCB counts in the soil, asbestos construction material, leaking electrical transformers, lead, arsenic, cyanide, benzene, and rotting storage drums containing Xylene and Toluene. A suit was filed by the M-DNR immediately after this inspection, with a hoped-for answer coming quickly from the property’s owner. In the meantime, all nearby residents could do was be patient for progress. Undoubtedly, this was not accomplished without a great deal of fear.
Magnifying glass eyes south Taylor
Beginning in the early 1980s, the southwestern corner of Taylor was gaining a less-than-sterling reputation as a haven for the drug trade. No less than five different condominium facilities were located within a one mile stretch of land. Of all of these it was Pine Ridge (the westernmost complex) which garnered the unfortunate nickname of “Crack Ridge” due to the involvement of the activity. On some weekends, 60% of overnight police runs would be to this complex, and the situation would slowly worsen as the decade wore on.
The most tragic incident during this timeframe was undoubtedly the assault on 19 year-old Kristin Grauman in 1989. Walking near the complex at night, she was picked up by two men who had been involved in an earlier run-in at Pine Ridge, and seeking drug purchases in the Inkster area. Grauman was to function as their guide, but when they intentionally over-ran their destination, she became fearful. In the ensuing assault she would be doused in gasoline and set afire by the criminals. Grauman would survive in a heavily disfigured state, but would bravely take the stand in the men’s subsequent trial to explain the happenings that evening. Grauman would be lauded for her courage and determination, and the men eventually were handed heavy sentences.
Despite this being a wake-up call to the community, it seemed the activity would continue to rage on at the same pace as before.
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