By Joe Jackson and Alison GendarFor months, Tiana Rice's parents were told their 16-year-old daughter died of an asthma attack - even though her naked body was found miles from home in an empty building.
Friday, they learned the truth: Cops believe Tiana was lured to a barren drug den, raped and left for dead when the shock triggered her asthma.
"She wouldn't have gone down there on her own. No way," said family friend Marcus Thomas, 27.
The Bronx teen disappeared Dec. 30 after telling her parents she was going out to drop off a Christmas present. Tiana instead headed to Brooklyn to see a man she met on the Internet.
When Tiana did not return home on time, a friend revealed her secret plans. Her frightened mother, Shirley Bird, called Tiana's cell phone that night about 9 p.m. and heard her daughter crying, "Stop! Stop!" before the line went dead.
That was just the beginning of a nightmare that went on for months.
An anonymous call led police to Tiana's body - naked except for a sock - in the Cypress Hills building. She was wrongly identified as a woman in her 20s from a wallet found near the body, so she lay unclaimed in a Brooklyn morgue for more than a month while her parents searched everywhere.
Bird and Tiana's dad, Willie Rice, finally learned on Feb. 3 their daughter was dead. And they never believed she was felled by just an asthma attack.
"I am very angry," her grandmother, Bernadine Caines, said in a February interview. "It could've been handled differently. One of the detectives said, 'All 16-year-olds run away some time - even the rich ones.'"
But Tiana did not run away. Investigators suspect at least three men greeted Tiana when she showed up at the Ridgewood Ave. building, which neighbors said is used by gangs for drug-fueled parties.
The underage girl had sex with two of the men, but when she refused to have sex with the third, cops believe she was held down and raped. The violent assault triggered the teen's fatal asthma attack, investigators believe. Her death was ruled a homicide, according to the city medical examiner's report, which was released Friday.
"We heard it was a setup. The house made out like a chillout spot. She didn't know what she was getting herself into. At the last minute, something went wrong and her untimely death happened," Thomas said.
Even before Friday, Tiana's family blamed the NYPD and the medical examiner's office for bungling the case.
"She was like the perfect child. She was the type to read books and study," said another family friend who gave his name as Cyrus. "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."
Friends said Tiana attended the Academy of Scholarship and Entrepreneurship High School and dreamed of becoming a model. In her free time, she performed community service with Scout Troop 1060, a group associated with Emmanuel Baptist Church on White Plains Road.
Friday, they learned the truth: Cops believe Tiana was lured to a barren drug den, raped and left for dead when the shock triggered her asthma.
"She wouldn't have gone down there on her own. No way," said family friend Marcus Thomas, 27.
The Bronx teen disappeared Dec. 30 after telling her parents she was going out to drop off a Christmas present. Tiana instead headed to Brooklyn to see a man she met on the Internet.
When Tiana did not return home on time, a friend revealed her secret plans. Her frightened mother, Shirley Bird, called Tiana's cell phone that night about 9 p.m. and heard her daughter crying, "Stop! Stop!" before the line went dead.
That was just the beginning of a nightmare that went on for months.
An anonymous call led police to Tiana's body - naked except for a sock - in the Cypress Hills building. She was wrongly identified as a woman in her 20s from a wallet found near the body, so she lay unclaimed in a Brooklyn morgue for more than a month while her parents searched everywhere.
Bird and Tiana's dad, Willie Rice, finally learned on Feb. 3 their daughter was dead. And they never believed she was felled by just an asthma attack.
"I am very angry," her grandmother, Bernadine Caines, said in a February interview. "It could've been handled differently. One of the detectives said, 'All 16-year-olds run away some time - even the rich ones.'"
But Tiana did not run away. Investigators suspect at least three men greeted Tiana when she showed up at the Ridgewood Ave. building, which neighbors said is used by gangs for drug-fueled parties.
The underage girl had sex with two of the men, but when she refused to have sex with the third, cops believe she was held down and raped. The violent assault triggered the teen's fatal asthma attack, investigators believe. Her death was ruled a homicide, according to the city medical examiner's report, which was released Friday.
"We heard it was a setup. The house made out like a chillout spot. She didn't know what she was getting herself into. At the last minute, something went wrong and her untimely death happened," Thomas said.
Even before Friday, Tiana's family blamed the NYPD and the medical examiner's office for bungling the case.
"She was like the perfect child. She was the type to read books and study," said another family friend who gave his name as Cyrus. "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."
Friends said Tiana attended the Academy of Scholarship and Entrepreneurship High School and dreamed of becoming a model. In her free time, she performed community service with Scout Troop 1060, a group associated with Emmanuel Baptist Church on White Plains Road.
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