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Kathryn Fuller, who barely survived taking contaminated cocaine that killed her 'Amazing Race' producer boss, is likely to be arrested and prosecuted by police
Kathryn Fuller, who barely survived taking contaminated cocaine that killed her 'Amazing Race' producer boss, is likely to be arrested and prosecuted by police in Uganda when she is released from the hospital.
Police spokesman Asuman Mugyenyi said Monday that Miss Fuller is being treated as a witness and suspect after she was found unconscious on the floor of her hotel February 18 alongside Jeff Rice, who died.
The announcement casts doubt on her ability to fully recover from paralysis that has left the right side of her body limp. Her father said she must return home to South African for medical treatment.
'Suspect and witness': Kathryn Fuller is subject to arrest in Uganda when she is released from the hospital, where she is recovering from taking contaminated cocaine
Bad drugs: Jeff Rice (left) has produced episodes of 'The Amazing Race' and other shows for American TV. He was working on a film in Uganda when he and Miss Fuller (right) took cocaine laced with fatal additives
'Ask people to pray that we come home,' Stuart Fuller, her father, told The Mercury newspaper.
Mr Fuller has been staying in the Ugandan capital of Kampala since Miss Fuller was discovered ill.
Mr Rice, American TV and film producer, was found dead bleeding from his mouth and nose after taking the cocaine in hotel room he and Miss Fuller were sharing.
The pair were in Uganda working on a film Mr Rice was producing.
Miss Fuller is currently recovering at a clinic in Kampala, but her father said she needs medical facilities and expertise only available in South Africa.
'She can regain the use of her right side, but needs to come to South Africa for treatment and to recuperate,' Mr Fuller said.
However, Miss Fuller must likely face charges of consuming cocaine in Uganda.
The case has alerted officials there to the possibility that Uganda is becoming a 'consumption destination,' a spot for adventurers and addicts to take illegal drugs with little risk of police detection.
Family man: Mr Rice is the father of two small daughter, aged 7 and 1. He and his wife worked out of Durban, South Africa
Mr Fuller said he was disappointed in his daughter for taking the drugs, but says she has already paid the price for her mistake.
'I am cross, extremely cross. She’s an extremely bright woman who made a mistake,' he said.
'After this, she’ll have to prove herself. We’ve been through hell, but which father wouldn’t rush to support his daughter?'
Police arrested Moses Kalanzi, a 23-year-old 'special hire driver,' for supplying contaminated cocaine and heroin to Mr Rice.
The driver is co-operating with police and could face charges for his role in the transaction, according to Ugandan newspaper the Daily Monitor.
Work: Rice helped producers on The Amazing Race, which follows teams as they travel around the world for a prize of $1 million. He worked on its latest season
'There was constant communication between the special hire driver and Rice on phone about the purchase of the drugs,' said a police spokesman. 'So we want to know the source of the drugs and how it is trafficked into the country.'
Father-of-two Mr Rice, 39, who worked on the series The Amazing Race, was discovered slumped over a table bleeding from his nose and mouth at the Serena hotel in the capital, Kampala.
Family: Miss Fuller's father Stewart Fuller traveled Kampala in the hopes of taking his daughter back to south Africa for treatment
An official toxicology report confirmed the narcotic with a 'lethal additive' was in Mr Rice’s blood, dispelling initial suspicions he had been poisoned by attackers or that he had swallowed it to conceal the drugs from police.
Mugenyi, the Ugandan police spokesman, said: 'Rice… used cocaine which had lethal additives and that’s what killed him.'
Brad Nathanson, a private investigator and friend of Mr Rice, said he had been shown the toxicology report by police and there was no evidence of 'foul play' in Rice’s death.
He said: 'In fact it was as a result of buying bad drugs, cocaine to be specific … it was a bad concoction.'
'I have read the toxicology report … it shows that there were small traces of cocaine in their blood and urine.'
Mr Nathanson said he had traveled to Uganda as a favor to the Rice family following rumors he had been poisoned.
Miss Fuller was found unconscious at the same time Mr Rice’s body was discovered
Mr Rice and Ms Fuller were believed to have voluntarily consumed the drugs, meaning she could be prosecuted under Uganda’s drug laws. Drug use can carry a jail term in Uganda.
As well as the Amazing Race, Mr Rice also worked on Animal Planet's Whale Wars and the South African version of The Biggest Loser.
He is survived by daughters, ages 2 and 7.
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