Oliver Barrows owned the Barrows Hotel in San Diego. A codicil in his grandmother's will stated that if he had no direct heir then the hotel would go to the city. On December 16, 1956, during a blizzard on a highway between Fort Worth and Dallas there was a 23-car accident. Mary Barrows and their 17-month-old daughter, Margaret Ellen, were in one of those cars. Mary died, and nobody knew what happened to the daughter. Oliver was murdered by Glenn Staley. He died believing that Kelly was his daughter.