CPD reveals new details in 2016 unsolved death of Edmond ‘Ricky’ Randolph Jr.
Meghan Drakas
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
While authorities and family members continue to search for answers, Columbia police are revealing new details about the homicide case of Edmond ‘Ricky’ Randolph Jr.
“Not knowing what happened to him is still troubling,” Randolph’s mother Nicole Craig said. “It’s still a struggle.”
Ricky Randolph Jr. with his daughter. (Credit: Nicole Craig)
Around 6:45 a.m. on June 25, 2016, a Columbia Police Department Lieutenant Matt Gremore said officers responded to a cardiac arrest call in the 2900 of Leeway Drive in northeast Columbia. Authorities were called to Apartment D, where they found the 25-year-old dead.
“As soon as the officers got here, they tried to do CPR, but it was quickly discovered he was deceased,” Gremore said. “Essentially, a resident that came home from work walked into the apartment and discovered that obviously he was hurt and she believed — in the 911 call — that he was deceased.”
Columbia police investigate the homicide of Edmond ‘Ricky’ Randolph Jr. on Leeway Drive in northeast Columbia on June 25, 2016.
Gremore said at the time, he was in the Street Crimes Unit and was called in to work the scene.
“My job became trying to track down witnesses or anybody that knew anything relative to the case,” Gremore said.
Police did not initially reveal his cause of death.
Months after the homicide in September 2016, there was speculation drugs may have been involved in Randolph’s death. Gremore said he could not confirm or deny if drugs were involved in the case.
“There’s things that you want to get directly from the killer in an interview,” Gremore said. “And if you put that out in the press where everybody know that, it taints the interview. So the idea that they withheld that from the beginning makes sense.”
“He had some trouble in his life and he turned his life around,” Craig said. “It’s unfortunate that he’s not here today.”
Nine years later, police now say Randolph was found laying on his back in the living room with multiple gunshot wounds, including once in the back of his head. Police said there were no other apparent injuries.
Ricky Randolph Jr. and his fiancé Cassandra Alexander. (Credit: Nicole Craig)
“There’s no indication of any forced entry,” Gremore said. “It’s unknown how if the individual that came in knew Ricky or how that came about.”
When asked if there was one or multiple suspects in the case, as well as if more than one gun was used, Gremore said he would not be able to confirm or deny any information. He said there are persons of interest in the case, but Gremore did not identify them.
He said police found shell casings, fingerprints and DNA evidence, which was sent off to the Missouri State Highway Patrol labs.
“As of today, we have not had anything come back that would take us into a position to arrest someone,” Gremore said.
A year after Randolph was killed, his mother, Nicole Craig spoke with ABC 17 News.
“It’s so heartbreaking that as small as Columbia is, nobody wants to say anything,” Craig said in 2017. “That’s what’s killing me the most.”
Eight years after that interview, those words still hold true. Craig said her son who was a brother, fiancé and father, who is “truly missed.”
Ricky Randolph Jr. with his daughter Rikkia Randolph. (Credit: Nicole Craig)
“I still feel the same way I felt when I found out he was deceased: Hurt and upset,” Craig said. “Pain is the best way to describe my loss. I’ve cried dearly for him to give me a sign or just to be able to see him again. It’s been very, very difficult for me and my family.”
Craig said her son was a charismatic man who loved to cook and tell jokes. She said, at one point, he worked as a chef for the University of Missouri and was training to become an assistant manager at Burger King in Columbia. He also became engaged shortly before he was killed.
“What I miss truly about him is the bright light that shines on him,” Craig said. “He was full of life.”
In the years following his death, she said her grandchildren have had a difficult time growing up without a father.
“They struggle, especially during birthdays, holidays, Father’s Day, they struggle,” Craig said. “They want to know what happened to their dad and I can’t explain it. I can’t give them one answer to say ‘hey, this is what happened,’ that kind of thing.”
She’s asking the community to step up and help bring answers to her son’s case.
“If you know something, please come forward, please. That’s all I ask,” Craig said. “Think of yourself as this could be your loved one. And your family wants to know what happened to their loved one. I think it’s only fair that people would come forward and stop living in this concept of, you know, hey, don’t ask, don’t tell, kind of thing.”
Case developments
Over the years, Gremore said multiple tips have come into Columbia/Boone County Crimestoppers. He said the most-recent one — at the time of publication — came in was in 2021.
“Our motto is if you see something, say something,” Columbia/Boone County Crimestoppers Board President John Fields said. “Because we know you know something, just get paid for what you know.”
Columbia/Boone County Crimestoppers Board President John Fields sits down for an interview with ABC 17 News in studio in Columbia, Missouri, on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Fields says Crimestoppers works to help solve any felony cases stemming from assault to homicide.
“We’re actively working with some other victims of homicides right now,” Fields said. “We know through working with the mothers of some of these victims of homicides that there were witnesses. And we would love for those witnesses to come forward and give these mother’s closure.”
That’s something Randolph’s mother has been asking for since her son was killed.
Edmond ‘Ricky’ Randolph Jr. with his mother, Nicole Craig. (Credit: Nicole Craig)
“I think of my son everyday,” Craig said. “I miss him dearly and I just pray one day that someone will come forward and say, ‘hey, I know exactly what happened to your son’ and we can move on from there and he can get justice.”
Craig says even after all this time, she still prays that one day, she will get her answers.
“I strongly believe that although its been some time since he’s passed away, I still believe in the judicial system,” Craig said. “I just keep praying that I’ll still get the answers that I’ve been seeking for so long.”