BRPD staying quiet about Allie Rice murder investigation; family still waiting for answers

BATON ROUGE – A month into the murder investigation of 21-year-old Allie Rice, and there are still more questions than answers.

“We’re basically sitting, waiting patiently for anything we can grasp on to right now,” said Paul Rice, Allie’s father.

Paul Rice told WBRZ Friday afternoon that he still has faith justice will be served, despite the lengthy investigative process.

“They are still working very hard on this. The case is being taken seriously and with priority. They’re following leads. It’s my understanding there have been tips through Crimestoppers that are being vetted. We just don’t know what the status of those are right now,” he said.

While police are staying mostly silent about the case, Rice is doing the opposite. He wants to make sure his daughter’s death isn’t forgotten any time soon.

Rice appeared on a local radio show Friday morning, sharing new details of the case. He says Allie was shot 10 times in the arms and chest. 

“As they said on the Jim Engster show this morning, a lot of times, these cases get forgotten after a couple of days, and that’s something that I’ve been doing personally with the interviews and different discussions is trying to keep her name up front,” Rice said.

While rumors swirl about what happened the night of the shooting, Rice warns the public to be careful about what details to believe.

“Everybody wants to solve the case. Everybody has their own ideas, and it becomes difficult to distinguish what’s real and what’s not, what’s credible and what isn’t. Everybody knows somebody who knows something, and we kinda have to take it with a grain of salt,” he said. “Detectives have always been upfront with me. ‘Hey, when you hear a rumor, you wanna know it’s true? Ask us, and we’ll tell you what we can.’ And at this point, they have.”

Despite everything Paul Rice and his family have been through this month, they’re still working to promote positivity and change. 

“We’re trying to spread a message of positivity and to live like Allie did, you know? So, as soon as we disappear, I’m afraid the message will, too,” he said.

The Shed held a memorial dinner for Allie Rice on Thursday. According to the owner, the money raised from that will go into her memorial fund.