Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - College Student, 21, Eating Fries, Body Found Riddles with Bullets

Episode Date: September 21, 2022

The family of 21-year-old Allison Rice lays the college student to rest today. Rice was found shot dead in her car, just three miles from campus. The LSU student was stopped at a railroad crossing for a train when witnesses say the killer or killers walked up to Rice's car and started shooting. Police say she may have been in the middle of turning around when the shots were fired. Police also say there’s no sign anything was stolen from Rice's car. No suspect has been named.   Joining Nancy Grace Today: Wendy Patrick - California prosecutor, author “Red Flags” www.wendypatrickphd.com 'Today with Dr. Wendy' on KCBQ in San Diego, Twitter: @WendyPatrickPHD Dr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, Atlanta GA, AngelaArnoldMD.com, Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University, Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital  Mona Kay - Private Investigator, "Mona K Investigations" (Omaha, NE), Twitter: @monakay  Dr. Michelle DuPre - Former Forensic Pathologist, Medical Examiner and Detective: Lexington County Sheriff's Department, Author: "Homicide Investigation Field Guide" & "Investigating Child Abuse Field Guide", Forensic Consultant, DMichelleDupreMD.com Chris Nakamoto - Chief Investigative Reporter, WBRZ-TV, Facebook: "Chris Nakamoto WBRZ", Twitter: @ChrisNakamoto See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Just think about it with me for a moment, and I don't like to let my mind go there, but for the purposes of analyzing this case, I am. You put all your love, all your dreams, all your energy, all your time, all your money into your children. You try to push them in every way that you can. You help them on their merit badges, on their math test, make them eat vegetables. And this goes on year after year after year. You finally get them to college. You know where I'm going with this, right?

A gorgeous co-ed shot dead. A college senior was sitting in her car eating fries when she is shot 10 times. Killer on the loose. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. Who murdered Allie? Take a listen to this. Fear, sadness, and anger

after an apparent random act of violence. An LSU student shot dead on Government Street in downtown East in Baton Rouge. She was trapped by a passing train when someone opened fire in the middle of the night. Allie Rice was shot multiple times and died in the front seat of her car. Police aren't sure right now who did it. There's no sign anything was stolen. Police have been working the streets all day canvassing that area. We have talked to businesses along Government Street who say they have turned over surveillance video to detectives.

21-year-old Allison Rice was found shot to death inside of her car in downtown Baton Rouge and her murder happening just three miles away from LSU where she attended. The 21-year-old was returning from an arcade Friday morning when she was shot to death multiple times inside her car. The gunman and their motive both remain a mystery. You are hearing our friends at WBRZ and News Nation. But now take a listen again to Katie Easter. 21-year-old Allison Rice, who went by Allie, was found shot to death in her car.

She was a senior at LSU studying marketing and attended Dutchtown High School where she was a cheerleader. I know it was like a loud pop by a loud sound. People who live in the area heard the gunfire but didn't see anything. Sources say they believe her eyes was turning around at the tracks as a train came by. That's when someone shot her multiple times through her windshield. I heard the train, but I didn't pay no mind to the train. I was paying to the gunshot. A senior at LSU studying marketing, cheerleader at Dutchtown High, minding her own business in her own car, probably with the doors locked, eating french fries.

And now she's dead. Now, how do you tell that to Allie's parents? With me and All-Star Panel, to make sense of what we know right now, but speaking of telling Allie's parents, who gets that job? Who was sent early, early in the morning to Allie's parents' front door to give them the news their girl is dead? Take a listen to Allie's dad speaking with our friend, Martha McCallum. We received a ring on the doorbell at 4.45 a.m.

We woke up to our dogs barking and the doorbell ringing. Cops had showed up in the middle of the night before for various reasons, things going on in the neighborhood and all. But when they asked, are you Allison's father? Can we come in, please? You knew at that point that it was going to be something terrible this should not have happened should not have happened she's a beautiful child she had one year left to graduate lsu she had her whole future ahead of her just so devastating there

investigators say that prior to the shooting rice had been with friends at a business in Mid-City. It's unclear what happened between the time that she left and when she was gunned down. Let's go straight out to Chris Nakamoto, chief investigative reporter, WBRZ-TV. On Facebook, you can find him at Chris Nakamoto, WBRZ. Chris, thank you for being with us. Let's just start at the very beginning. We got a lot to get through. Chris, tell me what happened when Allie was shot. This murder has really rocked this community to the core. This is the type of street where

murders don't happen. She was leaving an arcade, had stopped at a railroad track, literally a stone's throw from downtown Baton Rouge. And you literally there's a train that's coming by. And from what police have told us, gunman approaches and just opens fire on her car. OK, wait a minute. You just told me something I didn't know. Chris Nakamoto. Chris is joining us from WBRZ. You said a gunman approached her car. So this is not a case of wrong place, wrong time. They saw who they were shooting.

Did the gunman actually approach her car? Our sources are saying that a gunman or gunman arrived on foot and shot through her window, killing her. I just, this girl, a marketing major, cheerleader, scrubbed in sunshine, gunned down by unknown assailants as she's in her car, trying to turn around the car at a train track and munch it on fries. It's not computing to me. And something else you said, Chris Nakamoto, and I'm not going to kill the messenger, but Mona Kay joining me,

high-profile private investigator with Mona Kay Investigations out of Omaha on Twitter, at Mona Kay. Mona, did you hear Chris Nakamoto say, this is a neighborhood where people don't get shot? Right? He's right shot. All right. He's right. He's right.

Statistically, there's not a lot of shootings there, but the reality is crime invades every neighborhood. I mean, you're beating the street every single day on your cases as a PI, private investigator, and I bet you investigate all over every area of town. Yes, no. Yes, that's true. In areas that most people wouldn't assume that there's a lot of crime, I see it all the time.

And also, there was a witness that was parked on the other side of the railroad tracks that witnessed two men pass his car, go between the train boxes and approach Ali's car. Okay, you know what? You're giving me a flashback. I have read every single Agatha Christie that has been written. And, you know, they do the books and the movie might be named something else. And then the book might be re-released years later under a different name, but I read it as what Ms. McGillicuddy saw. And it's between trains. Her train went that way, and she saw a murder when the train went that way. And it's very hard to see, but what you're,

you know, what you're telling me, you can see as the train goes by through the train cars. Wow. Tell me about that, Chris Nakamoto. We know that when police arrived on the scene after, you know, the shooting happened, that they processed the scene for hours. They have been very tight-lipped about what type of evidence they collected at the scene. But my sources are saying that there was a number of pieces of evidence that were collected and are being tested. Hopefully, our crime lab here in Louisiana that operates under the umbrella of Louisiana State Police can get a rush on some of that to see if they can get a return to hopefully try to connect the dots to see if there's any sort of DNA matches. We do know yesterday the district attorney announced that the feds have also joined in the investigation, the DEA, ATF, and the FBI in hopes of trying to all put their minds together to solve who committed this heinous murder. Okay, let's go to the other experts

joining us. I've introduced Chris Nakamoto, WBRZ, on the story from the beginning, Monique from Monique Private Investigations in Omaha. But I want to go now to a longtime friend and colleague, Dr. Michelle Dupree, forensic pathologist, medical examiner, detective, and author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. Dr. Dupree, I want to talk to you about what Chris Nakamoto, WBRZ, just said. He said they took hours to process the scene. Hours.

You know, what makes a scene like this even more difficult is that it's outdoors. I've processed scenes with crime investigators outdoors before. What comes to mind is a playground, a housing project. The whole thing was covered with broken glass, used condoms, hypodermic needles, little glassing bags, and we were looking for a shell casing, and we found one. But long story short, Dr. Dupree, the pitfalls of an outdoor crime scene, explain.

Nancy, there are so many. I mean, first of all, there is so much other information. There's so much other debris. You're not sure what is relevant and what isn't. And so you can't take the chance that you're going to miss something. So you end up picking up a lot more evidence sometimes than you're really going to be able to use or that's pertinent to the case. In addition, you have the weather to worry about.

You have all sorts of other, again, debris, whether it's foreign DNA or whether it's other people's fingerprints or tire prints or whatever it might be. There is oftentimes just so much to sift through and know what's really important and what to take. And thinking about DNA and fingerprints, if they shot through the window, Dr. Dupree, unless they touched the car, which maybe they did. I mean, Chris Nakamoto, how close did they get to the car? See, those are questions that police have not answered, but we do know they fired on her car at least 10 times. Good Lord in heaven. Hold on. Hold on.

Dr. Dupree, let this percolate for a moment. I want to talk about how prints can be found on shell casings. Can they be found on bullets? If they got close enough to the car, if they touched the car, how you process that scene. But Dr. Angie Arnold, percolate on that, Dr. Dupree. Dr. Angela Arnold joining me, renowned psychiatrist joining us out of the Atlanta jurisdiction. You can find her at AngelaArnoldMD.com. Dr. Angie, 10 rounds or more?

What is that telling you? Look, this is not some jilted boyfriend. Didn't you say there was more than one assailant, Chris, or did you say that? We heard from our sources that there was possibly one or two people that approached the vehicle. Police have been very tight-lipped about what they've released so far. I understand.

They don't want to get too much information out there that could somehow harm the integrity of the investigation. Okay. Still we know 10 rounds, Chris. Do we know that? That is what our sources are saying, at least 10. Cool. Dr. Angie, this is just a girl.

She's a college student. She's been at an arcade with her other girlfriends. She's eating fries. How many times, Angie, have you sat at the red light with some fries or, I don't know, in your case, maybe some pate? I don't know. But minding your own business. And then out of the blue? Yes.

Every day, Nancy. We do it every day, don't we? Driving down Peachtree. It sounds like it was an execution. I wonder if they even knew who they were shooting. I'm just telling you, this girl is too young to be the victim of an orchestrated execution. What more do we know? Take a listen now to our friends at ABC 13 Houston.

There is an urgent manhunt in Louisiana for an LSU student's killer. Police are now coming through evidence to try to find out who shot and killed 21-year-old Alice Rice in Baton Rouge. Last Friday, Rice stopped for a train crossing and was approached by someone who simply opened fire at least a dozen times there into her windshield. Glass and other markings suggest she was trying to turn around when she died. Three days later, there are still no leads in this case. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace Wendy Patrick joining me, California prosecutor, author of Red Flags. That's on Amazon. You can find her at WendyPatrickPhD.com. She's also the host of Today with Dr. Wendy, KCBQ San Diego.

Wendy, thanks for being with us. Wendy, I'm just imagining what happened. And I'm wondering if she saw these guys or guy coming and she tried to turn around. Or if she was turning around because it was a train track and she didn't want to wait on the train. She could have gotten a sixth sense. Because this was, you know, they played it. They all played at this arcade till after midnight. So it's pitch dark and she's stuck at a train track.

I mean, Wendy Patrick, have you ever? It's happened to me. I remember jogging on a really long road by railroad tracks and there was nothing around and it hit me. You of all people know better than to do this. I just got a feeling and I turned around going the other way going back toward home and I wonder if she was sitting there and went what it's after midnight I'm here alone in my car at a train it's going to take forever to get by

I'm leaving I'm out of here I wonder if she got a sixth sense and was turning around what do you think happened based on what we know? And now we're hearing, Chris Nakamoto, possibly 12 bullets. But go ahead, Wendy. It seems like situational awareness really kicked in if that's in fact what she was doing. You know, we're supposed to have our heads on a swivel regardless of where we are. But especially if it's middle of the night, you're at an area, even if you're familiar with it. Chris brought up the great point of, oh, not in my backyard. It's a safe community.

We don't have murders here. But if this beautiful young woman lived there, she probably knew there were, in fact, elements to be dangerous and things that she should be aware of. It sounds like mistaken identity. I also think it sounds like an execution, an assassination. And you wonder whether or not she heard something. That was my first thought that caused her to look around and make sure she was safe. And sadly, we know what happened and where the end of that went. Chris Nakamoto, WBRZ. I also learned from some of our sources that she was shot through the, quote, wind screen of her car.

Are they trying to say the front windshield? Yes, that's what we are understanding as well. But the bullets entered in her abdomen area, from what we're being told. The district attorney told us yesterday, the key piece that they're trying to figure out right now was, was she trying to turn around when she saw the train and was stopped there? Or was she trying to turn around after she saw the gunman approach? And so that is what they don't know right now.

And so they're trying to piece that together. Obviously, they said that there wasn't surveillance video right there. Just going to ask you that. They've come through the area, going to multiple businesses. And I know for a fact that they are going through some videos in hopes of trying to piece together what happened. To Dr. Michelle Dupree joining us, medical pathologist, examiner and detective. What do you make of the shots coming through the windshield, the front windshield, but she's shot in the abdomen?

They'd have to be shooting down directly at her. Well, Nancy, it can be a couple of things. Of course, the shots coming through what we would call an intermediate target would be the windshield. So it's going to deflect that bullet in some other direction. It's also going to cause more damage because the bullet will have expanded hitting that initial target. And so when it would hit her, unfortunately, it would be a much more devastating injury. I want to go to something that you've been talking about. She may have seen the people coming, so she may have tried to turn

around. This is very, it's a very interesting case because it could be personal because they'd have to know who when and where she was it could also be something like a gang initiation or if it's really truly random this is very scary because those are the most hard cases to even try to solve when it truly is random. Guys, we're learning a little bit more. This is from Unfiltered with Kieran, and it is a quote from an alleged witness. I was bringing my friend home who lives on Government Street. When we got on Government, we came to the train tracks, and the train was at a complete stop. I hate it when a train does that. Not even 10 minutes later, two guys walked past my car wearing dark clothes with long sleeves, one wearing a red hoodie, the hoodie over his head,

mid-20s, both of them 510 to 511. At this time, her vehicle pulled up. This is Allison's Alley Silver SUV. These two guys walked past my vehicle, the train still at a stop, walking through the cars of the train to get across the tracks. 10 minutes went by, I heard gunshots, multiple gunshots. I could still see her car parked. As soon as the shots went off, she tried to turn around and then she just stopped. I could not tell where the shots were coming from, but I knew they were very close to me. I ended up backing out and leaving. That's more of what we know right now. Guys, the police are issuing a desperate plea for help.

Take a listen to our friends at WDBJ. Police are pleading with the public if anyone has information regarding this case to please come forward. We're asking for anyone that has any information regarding the death of this young lady. Pick up the phone, call Crime Stoppers 344-7867. Funeral services for rice are set for Wednesday at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Prairieville. Mm-mm-mm. And they should be planning her graduation,

not her funeral. Back to Dr. Michelle Dupree, author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. What about the possibility of any kind of prints, full or partial on shells or bullets well you're not going to find any prints on the bullets themselves on the shells there is a relatively

new technique where it has been possible to find prints on the shells but you have to do it very carefully we found that the oils will oftentimes leave a very small etching on the casing of the shell. So it would be, you've got to find those shells, and hopefully they would. And the problem with the bullet, if you've ever seen a bullet that's already been fired, even if someone did touch the bullet, the problem is the bullet becomes deformed once it hits anything. It's going at such a high velocity, it crumples up like a paper cut when it hits. Not always, but a lot of times, you can't get a print off of that. To Mona Kay, a private investigator, joining us from Mona Kay Investigations, what do you make of what we're learning now? Well, I think it's interesting that if it was a random shooting, it passed the first car that the witness, you know, described, passed his car, went to her car, and then he describes, you know, roughly 10 minutes of time went by before he heard gunshots.

You know, I'm wondering what was going on in that amount of time. For some reason, Monica, I took the witness to be a male. Don't know why. I don't know why. I did too. But I'm wondering if they went up to Allie's car, saw a lone female, and tried to get in the car to rape her or rob her, and she started backing out, and then they fired on her.

Maybe they were trying to get in her car. Right. Because that would explain why her and not the witness. Why did they walk past the witness's car and pick out her car? Guys, I want you to now take a listen to our friends again at WDBJ7. We're on day three of trying to get answers from police regarding the shooting death of 21-year-old LSU student Allison Rice early Friday morning on Government Street. Tonight, officials with the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner's Office are ruling her death a homicide, saying she died from multiple gunshot wounds as investigators found her dead inside of her vehicle near the railroad tracks on Government Street. A suspect and motive in this one remain unknown at this time, while funeral arrangements for Rice have been announced.

To Chris Nakamoto, Chief Investigative Reporter, WBRZ-TV. Chris, tell me about that rail crossing. You don't really see a lot of residential homes facing a train track, which would mean, if that's true, there's not going to be any, for instance, ring doorbells catching it. What's around the train track, which would mean, if that's true, there's not going to be any, for instance, ring doorbells catching it. What's around the train track? To give you a scene setter, that area has gone through a huge amount of redevelopment over the last five to 10 years, a huge gentrification. There were a bunch of old buildings that were there that have now become restaurants. And there's a lot of nightlife in that area. It's a great place to be to bring your family. And so for something like this to happen, that is why this

community is reeling, because they don't feel safe in a situation that they want to take their families. And then you also have the situation where she's from. She's from 20 miles from south of Baton Rouge in an area of Ascension Parish called Geismar. And so you have that area of the community that's also reeling from her death. This was a good girl. And Baton Rouge police told us for the first time since her murder that they do believe that this was a random act of violence, which makes things particularly scary because if this was random, you now have these monsters that are out on looming in the public

that could do it to somebody else. You know, Chris Nakamoto, I'm trying to figure out anything about surveillance video or ring doorbell. I know there was not a surveillance video at the crossing itself. I'd also be curious if they have recovered her cell phone. I mean, let's just say, let's hypothesize, let's spin it out to its logical conclusion, Chris. If these two guys, and the witness says there were two, one in a red hoodie, both in dark clothing, what if they tried to get in her car and she took their picture? I mean, does anybody on the panel, have you ever seen someone speeding or

they do something crazy and you snap a picture of their license tag? I do it all the time. Or if I see something unusual, I do. Jump in, Wendy. Both personally and professionally, that is a very modern way of documenting crime. You know, citizens are law enforcement's eyes and ears on the ground, and that is one of the ways that we contribute to crime prevention within our own communities. This young woman, I mean, that would fit right into the type of a pattern that we might expect, that we might expect her to be savvy enough, especially if it's a safe area, to see something and then document it in preparation for spaining something. We see it all the time, Wendy. Yep.

I want to get my hands on that cell phone. Hey, Chris Nakamoto, following up on what Wendy Patrick said, host of Today with Dr. Wendy, Chris Nakamoto, was anything taken from her that we know of? Nothing was taken. Absolutely nothing was taken, which is why police are so stumped. They don't know whether or not this was an attempted carjacking, whether it was an attempted robbery, because nothing was taken from her vehicle. They don't know if the killer shot her and then got spooked or couldn't get into her car, because a lot of cars lock when you put the vehicle in drive these days.

And so they don't know if they shot her, tried to get in and couldn't get in and then got spooked and took off running. But nothing was missing. Looking at a picture of her right now holding a puppy dog. What a smile. Her parents obviously also invested in braces. She's got this beautiful million dollar smile.

Already had an internship lined up for when she got out. Great grades. The works. Back to you, Chris Nakamoto. At this location, do you think that there were surveillance cameras on the backs of any of these restaurants and bars you were talking about? So we know that there's audio. We obtained audio over the weekend that sounds that you hear the gunshots and some screeching, but the audio is just audio.

There's no video. And so we know that police were out on bicycles. They were handing out bicycles on Friday for their detectives to literally ride that whole area looking for video. And we know that there are a number of bars and restaurants that do have videos. I'm looking specifically at a white building to the left of the crime scene. There's a white building and it looks to be some sort of a, you know how you see like a bus stop with a little roof on it? One of those may be nearby.

What kind of train was this, by the way? So we have a lot of industry in Baton Rouge, especially on the northern end. So when we talk about train, we're not talking about passenger rail. These are tanker cars, things like that, that are going to and from that industrial section. Yes, cargo. So there wouldn't be a whole lot of witnesses around standing at a train stop, like a bus stop, waiting. I'm looking at a picture of her now on homecoming court.

Just talk about scrubbed in sunshine. Well, of course, the family is devastated. Listen. What does your gut tell you about what happened that night in her car? The only thing that I can really think at this point is it's a bad case of wrong place at the wrong time. You know, she's not anyone that had enemies. We don't think that she was being stalked or followed. They really don't have an explanation at this point.

They're trying to find some type of video footage, some kind of surveillance. They're going further back down the road to, you know, maybe check those cameras, see if someone was following or seeing if they can see, you know, maybe people walking in the area or something that could have been involved in this. But as of now, that particular stretch of town, they don't have the surveillance that's necessary. You were hearing Ali's father. I don't know how he has the strength to even speak. He's talking to our friend Martha McCollum on Fox News. I guess he's propelled by seeking justice for his daughter, Ali. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. You know, I know that she was eating fries, Dr. Michelle Dupree,

because when her body was found still sitting in her car, she was still in her seat with the fries in her lap. It's not like she was doing anything to intimidate or threaten her shooters in no way at all. That's right, Nancy. I mean, this is someone who has stopped at a train track, minding their own business, eating fries on their way home. I mean, this was senseless and, I mean, just absolutely absurd attack on an innocent person. And can I jump in? This is Mona.

And it's very excessive, the shooting. What do you mean? I mean, the number of shots that were fired. Exactly. Exactly. Guys, take a listen to our friends at Inside Edition. As the roadside memorial grows on Government Street, near the spot where 21-year-old LSU student Allie Rice was shot and killed early Friday morning, questions still linger from the community on what happened. Lieutenant Don Coppola with VRPD tells me the motive at this time is still unclear to investigators rice was found dead inside her bullet riddled car near the train tracks on government street close to eddie robinson drive

police say if you're uneasy about what happened you can use alternate routes the heartbroken father of a slain college senior is pleading for help tracking down the killer it's a great day to be a griffin. 21-year-old Allie Rice was shot multiple times through the windshield of her car when it was stopped at a railroad crossing while she was on her way home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The marketing major from Louisiana State University had been on a night out with friends. She was eating fries when a barrage of bullets hit her. You're hearing not only the voice of Allie Rice. She was saying it's a great day to be a griffin. That was her voice. You're not only

hearing Inside Edition, but our friend Miranda Thomas at WDBJ7. Straight back out to you, Chris Nakamoto. Tell me about what is being done to find Allie's killer. The district attorney told us yesterday it's an all hands on deck thing. I mean, they have not stopped from the moment that she was killed. You have all the intelligence divisions that are keeping their ear to the ground. They are working overtime. You now have the ATF, DEA, FBI all joining in the investigation. You have all of BRPD having multiple meetings talking about this.

Did you say the DEA is involved? Yes. That's interesting. What do you make of that, Wendy Patrick, that the DEA is involved? What I make of it is that there's more to the investigation than they're able to tell us because, as you noted earlier, they don't want to compromise the integrity of ongoing leads so they're probably following up on other leads other information and intel that came in from other sources but it is very interesting and and you know our ears perk up when we hear an agency like that was called in with what originally looked like just some sort of a murder investigation it's never that. There's always more to the story.

I will never forget the first triple homicide I prosecuted, Wendy. I was out working night and day, 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning. At that playground I was talking about earlier, that is where the triple homicide went down. Three young boys, really young, like 15, 16, 17, were shot dead around midnight, 1130 p.m. on a Sunday night on that playground. And I found out well into the investigation, nobody wanted to talk because they were afraid, that the feds had a DEA investigation going at the same time. And of course, the feds would not share any information at all, no matter how much I begged. I think they were letting me do their dirty work for them,

and I did. So when you bring in the feds, the DEA Drug Enforcement Agency, and the FBI, I think you're right, Wendy, there's more going on that meets the eye. Of course, the parents absolutely devastated. Take a listen to our friends at Inside Edition speaking to Allie's dad. Allie always had a smile on her face. She posted videos dancing with her dad. How close were you? She video messages me at work, you know, all day long. And we spend a lot of time together.

Her slaying is baffling police and no motive or suspects have been named. Have police given you any idea who could have done this? At this point, there's really not any leads. Okay, let me go back to you, Dr. Angela Arnold. Help me out. Give me your analysis. My analysis from what I've heard today is that this was a random act of violence, in all likelihood perpetrated by some sort of gang initiation. I can't imagine anything that this beautiful girl did to bring this on herself.

She was just a completely unlucky victim in this, and it's hideous. When you hear the words from police saying, quote, she's with the coroner now, she didn't make it, it's the most devastating words you can ever hear. That's a quote from her father, Paul Rice. The family, Paul, her stepmom, Kay Rice, her mother, Angela, her stepfather, Travis, devastated. I can't even imagine. Dr Angie we always hear you should never have to bury your child I hate to even say the words because all I can think of are my children John David and Lucy and you know Dr. Angie I thought I knew everything about grief and mourning and devastation when my

fiance was murdered now that I have, I can't imagine anything worse than having your child murdered. Well, because Nancy, as you said, all we do our entire life. Having your child die in any way. I just can't even imagine that. But murdered and shot multiple times. You know, she may have been unrecognizable. We don't know. It was a horrific way for that beautiful girl to die. And I'm not sure how any parent ever truly gets over that, Nancy, because we spend our entire lives trying to protect them.

We open that little door to give them some freedom when they go to college, and then she's getting ready to graduate from college. We've done everything just beautifully. And then something like this befalls her. You know, speaking of her parents, Dr. Angie, they wanted so much to be with us today, but could not because today is Allie's funeral. And I ought to tell you, just when I said that, the words just caught in my throat. Just thinking of this girl that you give birth to, that you raise, that you love. I remember, Angie, the twins were so sick and I was so sick Lucy almost died during child birth and when I got them home out of ICU I thought oh thank you Lord I got them that far

okay if you can just let me get them through these first three months few months so I can get them healthy so they can survive and then we got past that, and I thought, Lord, if I could just get them to preschool, just help me get them through preschool. Then, okay, then help them through elementary school. You know, all they go through, the mean kids, the bullies, the this, the that. And then comes middle school. Oh, dear Lord, in heaven, the drama, the ups, the downs, the emotional highs and lows, the defeats, the joys.

And then you think, oh, got them through middle school. Well, then there's high school. And then there's college. And each time you think, oh, whew, I got them through that. But really, a parent's blessings and duties are never really over. Here she is about to graduate and start an internship out in the big bad world, and this has to happen to their baby. And your children are always your babies, aren't they?

They're always your babies. My little girl turns 19 this week. I still see her as my baby. And hearing this story, I'm scared. You're always scared to death that something like that could happen to your own child because it's out there. It's out there in this mean world that we live in now. I want you to hear Ali take a listen to our friends from News Nation. The family distraught over who could have killed a young woman whose love of life they call contagious? I'm Allison Nicole Rice, and I'm going to wake up at 8.30 tomorrow

and have coffee with my lovely roommates because that's just what I want to do. It's a hole that will never be filled. Rice's Uncle Mike spoke with News Nation today. He says the family has been given no answers. Allie had no bad blood, no enemies. We truly think it's a random micro-violence. Some monsters just take the life of some pure innocent child. At the time of Rice's shooting, police believe the LSU senior was stopped waiting for a train to pass. It's almost worse when the act is random because it's kind of like your whole life is devastated by the luck of the draw.

The tip line, 225-344-7867. Repeat, 225-344-7867. Our prayers with Allie's family as we pray the killers are brought to justice. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.