LA LA - Rosalyn Rankins, pregnant, & Megan Hall, 2, Prairieville, 29 April 1996

A double homicide committed in 1996 is still unsolved. Rosalyn Rankins was driving home to Baton Rouge with Megan Hall, her two-year old goddaughter. Instead of reaching her intended destination, she ended up in the parking lot of Mount Gillion Baptist Church in Prairieville. Someone approached the car and shot both Rosalyn and Megan in the face. Megan had powder burns on her hands, indicating that she most likely tried to shield her face during the attack. Rosalyn was seven months pregnant at the time and miraculously, doctors were able to save her child. Rosalyn was still alive after she was shot but ended up dying a few hours after giving birth. Her child has now grown up and started her own family.

Such tragic circumstances. They are depending on people to come forward with information. They believe it was someone Rosalyn knew because she had a gun herself that she did not reach for during the attack. I hope the families and investigators get the answers they need to solve this case.


Cold Case: Investigators searching for leads in 1996 double murder

Investigators recovered the gun believed to have been used in the double homicide. A child found it in a ditch. DNA testing was relatively new then and so far not much help in this case.

Investigators are hoping someone will come forward which information or "even the smallest little thing" to help them solve this cold case.

"I'd be less than honest if I didn't tell you that we hit a dead end on this thing a while back," Wiley said. "We have our angles and we have our hypothesis about who, what, when, where on this, but not enough that ever rose to the level of probable cause for an arrest."

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- I couldn't find Rosalyn's age so I left that part blank in the thread title.

http://www.wafb.com/story/29659656/cold-case-investigators-searching-for-leads-in-1996-double-murder
"ASCENSION PARISH, LA (WAFB) -

"It was a spring night, April 29, 1996. Rosalyn Rankins had borrowed her best friend's boyfriend's car and was headed home to Baton Rouge, but for some unknown reason ended up in the Mount Gillion Baptist Church parking lot on Henry Road in Prairieville.

Investigators said it wasn't long until someone approached the car Rankins was in and eventually shot her but didn't stop there.

Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeff Wiley had just been elected sheriff a few years prior and remembers the case well.

"I don't know if it gets any worse," Sheriff Wiley said."

The suspect not only shot Rankins in the face, but also her goddaughter who just happen to be in the car with her at the time. The 2-year-old child, Megan Hall, had powder burns on her hands possibly from trying to shield her face from the gun."


snip>

"However, in what the family describes as a miracle, fast-acting paramedics, realizing that Rosalyn Rankins was 7 months pregnant, were able to get her to the hospital, where doctors would end up saving the unborn child.

"You know thinking that if she would have been here, things would have gone that way or this would have been like this or things would've been a lot different had she still been here," said Surlia Williams, Rosalyn Rankins' mother and the woman who raised her "miracle" baby. "Because it's never easy losing a child, that was my only girl."

This is so sad, and she was pregnant! Amazing that her baby survived. I wonder where the baby's father was and if he was cleared of suspicion. This sounds very personal, not random. Seems to be very little info out there.

P.S. There is a thread on WS about this lady but no replies or info on it

sallye818 said:

This is so sad, and she was pregnant! Amazing that her baby survived. I wonder where the baby's father was and if he was cleared of suspicion. This sounds very personal, not random. Seems to be very little info out there.

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Have seen this sk's name pop up in searches for more info into the case, however since R.R. was pregnant, someone she knows is more likely to be involved, imo.
How could they and why would they do that to the little 2 year old?! imo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrick_Todd_Lee

dotr said:

Have seen this sk's name pop up in searches for more info into the case, however since R.R. was pregnant, someone she knows is more likely to be involved, imo.
How could they and why would they do that to the little 2 year old?! imo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrick_Todd_Lee

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All I can think, as far as why kill that little one, is uncontrolled rage of the moment (again, sounds like a personal crime against Rosalyn), or fear that the two-year-old knew the killer and could identify him/her.

she was 22 years old at the time of her death. I am the baby that she was 7 month pregnant with at the time

My dad is out living his life still in prairieville. He didn't get charged with anything because there wasn't enough evidence to charge him.

Welcome to webslueths. So sorry about your mother.

Was he a suspect that you know of?

Hi Everyone,

TyroslaR1 is a verified insider in Rosalyn's case.

Please, as always, treat TyroslaR1 with respect.

Remember TyroslaR1 does not need to provide links to her posts and it's up to you whether to believe what she posts or not.

Thank you and welcome to WS TyroslaR1.

We know that at least 20% of pregnancy-related deaths involve the father.

There is VERY little info out there on this case. I would absolutely LOVE to know the address she was coming from and the address of her intended destination. The Prairieville Church is about 25 minutes from Baton Rouge. She would have been taking highway 61, but you wonder why not interstate 10? Hmmmm......

She was noted as having a gun. Was she carrying this because she had reason to fear for her life or just as a safety precaution?