Missing Teen's Death Ruled Homicide After Sexual Assault

After believing that 16-year-old Tiana Rice of the Bronx was still missing for a month after police had found her body, her family has now learned that the details of the teenager's death were more gruesome than they could have imagined. A medical examiner's report determined that Rice was murdered while being raped inside a Brooklyn apartment that is known for its "drug-fueled parties."

Rice told her parents that she was going to a friend's house to drop off a Christmas present on December 30th, but instead headed to the East New York drug den to get together with a man she met on the internet. There investigators say that she had consensual sex with two men, but drew the line at a third, who then raped her. An asthma attack during the assault sent her into cardiac arrest, leading to her death.

Police believed that Rice's body was an older woman's, based on an ID found nearby. Her parents continued a search for the girl until February, when the ME's office realized the body was of a teenager. Until meeting with the Brooklyn District Attorney yesterday, Rice's parents only knew that their daughter had died of an asthma attack.

One family friend told the Daily News, "She wouldn't have gone down there on her own. No way." Another said, "She was like the perfect child. She was the type to read books and study. Her mother didn't raise her to hang out. She was raised to go to school, do work and get a job. That girl had a bright future."

Police did not say that they had any suspects. Investigators are searching for any further clues as to just who may have been inside the abandoned building at the time of the murder.