Having said that evidence in the death of her husband Jeff Rice 'points towards being poisoned', Sally Blackman adds that Rice's production assistant was also found in critical condition in Uganda.
- February 22, 2012
AceShowbiz -
Jeff Rice, a freelance facilitating producer for season 20 of "The Amazing Race", has been found dead in his hotel room in Kampala, Uganda. Details surrounding his death remain sketchy, but his grieving widow Sally Blackman suspected that the father of two young children was likely to have passed away after being poisoned.
"They were not attacked but [evidence] points towards being poisoned," Blackman said in an interview with Fox News. "[A]t this stage it is quite difficult to give you any firm reports as the incident is currently under investigation by the Uganda police. I would not like to speculate or even attempt to give my views on this as this may jeopardize the investigation going forward."
Earlier report suggested that Rice, who had worked on such shows as "Whale Wars" and the South African version of "The Biggest Loser", ended up very sick after refusing to give in to the demands of local thugs. It was also reported at the time that another facilitator was also "sick with poisoning of some kind".
According to Blackman, the other facilitator was Rice's production assistant, who is currently in critical condition. "His production assistant, currently working for Maverick Entertainment [Rice's production company], was also discovered in a coma and has been hospitalized in Uganda," she said, before adding, "She has not shown any improvement as [of] yet."
Speaking of Rice, Blackman described her husband as "a dedicated father who made the most of his time with his family when back home in South Africa." She went on to say, "He has left a huge void, not only in the film industry, but with his family he has left behind. We will miss his smiles and constant humor."
Upon hearing news of Rice's passing, some of those who have worked with him took to Twitter to share their reaction. SyFy Channel personality Josh Gates tweeted, "Floored by the loss of my dear friend & fellow adventurer, Jeff Rice. You were, quite simply, the real deal. I'll never forget you," and Rex Williams of "Destination Truth" wrote, "Lost my great friend, Jeff Rice. I can't tell you how saddened we are. He was a true adventurer."
