Ally's Way
By Kimber Williams
Wikipedia
Visit Ally's Wikipedia page
Although close to her family and friends back home on the West coast, since moving East, Alexandra easily made many friends. Alexandra could usually be seen introducing herself to a newcomer and instantly making them feel like they had known her for years. Alexandra met people in all types of places and from all walks of life; some she met at one of the many charity organizations she devoted herself to, many she sailed with, and some she met while drinking a pint of her favorite beer, Guinness.
No matter how many friends she had, Alexandra always managed to make everyone of her friends feel special. Though there is no way of calculating how many people Alexandra touched during the short time she was given, the tremendous outpouring of love and sympathy from people all across the country must be an indication of how well loved Alexandra was.
Alexandra had many interests and passions in her short life, but few were as near and dear to her heart as the Charity Organizations she worked with, children's programs, animals - especially her dog U.B., the University of Oregon Ducks, and sailing. The ALLY Foundation is committed to honoring Alexandra by continuing to support those Causes and Foundations that she was most devoted to in her life.
That night, Alexandra drove to Boston for a charity cruise and a concert. On her way home to Newport, Rhode Island, she stopped at a rest area in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. When Ally went into the Burger King restaurant at the rest stop, the manager that took her order took special notice of her because "she was nice to me, she treated me like a human being." That would be the last conversation that Ally would ever have. Neither Ally nor the night manager could have any way of knowing that a dangerous sexual predator, Paul Leahy, with twenty four convictions including rape and kidnapping was working in their midst; completely unsupervised, untreated, and recently released from prison by the state.
Paul Leahy attacked Alexandra as she opened the women's restroom door. There was little Alexandra could do to fight Leahy, a man twice her weight, but she fought hard, even pleading with him to let her go and claim that he had rescued her from an attacker. It was useless.
Next door in the men's bathroom State Trooper Stephen O'Reilly heard suspicious noises, and upon investigation saw blood on the door to the women's restroom. Trooper O'Reilly drew his gun and opened the restroom door to find Leahy washing his hands in a blood soaked room. Leahy said "I lost it, I just lost it."
Alexandra's death was due to a catastrophic failure of the criminal justice system, the very institution mandated to protect the innocent. Paul Leahy's rights were put before Alexandra's when the state allowed a repeat violent sex offender to roam the streets freely.
The ALLY Foundation will relentlessly pursue an integrated system of cooperation between government, the criminal justice system, and citizens to ensure the safety of society is a priority so that what happened to Alexandra will never, ever happen again.