In this episode of Pushing Up Lilies, I examine the tragic and ongoing death investigation of Alexandra "Allie" Hummel, a 36-year-old Missouri nurse whose unexpected death has left her family, friends, and community searching for answers. I walk through the known timeline, previous domestic violence allegations, the events surrounding her death, and what investigators typically examine in cases like this. Drawing from my experience as a forensic death investigator, I explain the investigative process while honoring Allie's life and emphasizing the importance of letting the evidence guide the truth.
What happens when a young, healthy woman is found dead in her own home... and the questions begin long before the investigation has answers?
This week on Pushing Up Lilies, I'm taking a closer look at the life and death of Alexandra "Allie" Hummel, a 36-year-old licensed nurse from Missouri whose unexpected death remains under investigation. Based on publicly available information, I walk through the timeline of events leading up to her death, including a documented domestic violence incident that occurred less than a year earlier and why that history is significant in any death investigation.
From the 911 call to the pending toxicology results, I'll explain what investigators look for when responding to an unexpected death in the home, how prior incidents become part of the investigative process, and why every piece of evidence matters. As a forensic death investigator, I also share my professional perspective on scene documentation, autopsy findings, toxicology testing, and the importance of remaining objective while allowing the facts to determine the outcome.
Most importantly, this episode is about Allie, a dedicated nurse, mother, daughter, sister, and friend whose loved ones continue to seek answers. While this investigation is still ongoing, her story also shines a light on the realities of domestic violence, the challenges victims often face, and why support systems are so important.
Next week, I'll be joined by Allie's close friend, Kelsey, who will share personal memories of Allie and offer additional insight into the woman behind the headlines.
If you or someone you love is experiencing domestic violence, please know that help is available. You are not alone.
00:06
Welcome to Pushing Up Lilies. I'm your host, Julie Mattson. Pushing Up Lilies is a weekly true crime podcast with spine-tingling, unusual, and terrifyingly true stories from my perspective as a forensic death investigator and a sexual assault nurse examiner.
00:24
Do I have some stories for you? Are you ready? Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Pushing Up Lilies. I'm coming to you this week from Deadwood, South Dakota. I don't know how many of you have been here before, but it is such a beautiful countryside.
00:44
We flew into Rapid City yesterday and we're here for a couple of days. Then we're going to go visit my husband's family farm in Rock Lake, North Dakota. And then we're going to go to Minot and spend a day at the fair, I believe, before we go home.
01:03
So just needed a little opportunity to get away. School is still schooling. I guess next week is my last week of this semester. So, I'll be taking my final exam, which I'm extremely nervous about for this clinical.
01:19
And I have one more clinical day, and I will have my 180 hours and 180 patients in for this semester. And then we're going to do the same thing next semester, but next semester is going to be pediatrics and family medicine.
01:34
And then my last semester is the same. So, I will be doing those rotations in Louisville as well. So, I should be done in March, y'all. So, I'm just hoping that everything goes smoothly. School is hard when you've been out for 30 years.
01:52
It's really hard to try to go back. And my memory's not what it used to be. I think I've told you all that before. When you're 58, you just don't remember things like you should. And so, it's more difficult, even if it's something that's instilled in your brain that you've been doing for 30 years.
02:07
But today we are dedicating a full episode to the life and death of Alexandra, also known as Allie Leanne Barton Hummel. She was a 36-year-old licensed nurse from New London, Missouri. And Allie was found unresponsive in her home on June 23rd of this year, 2026.
02:31
And her death remains under investigation. Now, again, as I've told y'all before, this is a fully factual account based on public records, news reports, court documents, family statements, statements from friends that I have spoken to, and official statements that have been made public since the middle of this month.
02:58
There is no speculation here beyond what's reported. I'm just going to stick to the facts. But Allie's story is one of a dedicated healthcare professional, a sister, a friend, and a mother, and a woman whose final chapter has left her loved ones in her community seeking answers.
03:18
This is a story very similar to ones that we hear every day and very similar to ones that I have worked in the death investigation field. Now, later in this episode, I'm going to give you some professional insights into the death investigation process in cases like this.
03:38
And I'm going to announce next week's episode. That's going to be an interview with Allie's friend Kelsey, who will share her perspective and memories surrounding her friend's life and passing. Now, Alexandra, or we'll just call her Allie.
03:55
Allie Hummel was born on July 7th of 1989. So, she would have turned 37 just two weeks after her death. She grew up in Missouri area and pursued a career in nursing, and she became a licensed nurse in that state.
04:16
She is remembered by those who knew her as a caring individual with passion for helping others. Now, Allie worked as a nurse, and we all know this is a demanding profession that often involves long hours.
04:29
It's a lot of stress, and it has a profound impact on patients' lives, which is why we love it. But colleagues and friends who interacted with her professionally described her positively following her death.
04:43
She was very well loved. Now, she married Dr. Andrew Michael Hummel, who was an anesthesiologist, and he operated Northern Ozark Anesthesia Solutions, which is his own LLC. And he previously worked at Hannibal Regional Hospital.
05:03
Now, the couple lived together in a home on Lone Cedar Trail in New London, Missouri in Ralls County. Now, we're going to go back to what happened in July of 2025. This event is significant and it would later become public because of her death.
05:24
Otherwise, it may not have. And again, this is something that we hear of every day. But on or around July 24th of 2025, law enforcement responded to a domestic disturbance at a Hilton hotel in St. Louis, Missouri.
05:42
According to reports, a guest heard a woman screaming, get off me. And so, officers came to the scene and found Allie with a swollen lip in the hotel lobby women's restroom. She reported that an argument with her husband had escalated.
06:00
Dr. Andrew Hummel allegedly assaulted her, struck her in the face, and strangled her multiple times to the point that she could not breathe. Now, he was found in the hotel room with a cut on his hand and blood present.
06:17
So, who knows what else he hit in the room, but it sounds like he definitely had an anger issue. This happened again, July 24th of 2025. The guest was in a neighboring room, and she heard the woman screaming, get off me multiple times and obviously reported it to hotel staff.
06:39
Now, Andrew Hummel at that time was arrested and he was initially charged with second degree domestic assault, which is a felony for the strangulation and third degree domestic assault, which is a felony, and that was for striking her in the face.
06:58
Now, court records noted that the victim, Allie, was in a continuing relationship of a romantic nature with him, which they were married. So that's no big secret. Now, just in March of this year, Andrew Hummel pleaded guilty to reduced charges, two counts of fourth degree assault, which are actually misdemeanors.
07:21
And he was sentenced to probation. He avoided jail time, and he was able to retain his medical license throughout this process. What makes me angry about this is how many times have we talked about perpetrators getting out of jail, being released early?
07:42
I feel in this case, like he probably used his job as a reason that he should be given a reduced sentence. But it aggravates me that he just got probation, that there was visible proof of her injuries.
08:01
And it was almost like she was completely ignored because he avoided additional jail time. His medical license was not affected at all, which this bothers me too, because I wouldn't want him taking care of me, especially if, like, who knows?
08:18
Does he have something against women or just his wife at the time? I mean, he sounds angry. If somebody ticks him off, is he going to go off in the OR and do something or not do something? I mean, I don't know.
08:32
I don't trust him. Allie actually called her sister Tricia during this incident and asked her to pick her up from the hotel. The family, including her sisters Tricia and their father, became increasingly concerned in the following months after receiving communications from Allie.
08:53
This incident occurred roughly 11 months before Allie's death on June 23rd of this year and about three months before Andrew's plea deal. Friends and family have stated that Allie sometimes protected her husband.
09:10
And a lot of women do this in domestic violence situations. I have been also a victim of domestic violence, as have many of you. And, you know, many times we protect the person because, and I can say this firsthand, you want your friends to like them.
09:27
You want your family to like them. And so, you don't talk about it a lot because you don't want to cause friction between them and your friends and family. You're trying to keep the peace between everybody because you don't want to lose touch with anybody.
09:44
You also are in fear of yourself. It's a terrible place to be. It's a terrible place to be. Trust me. So, she protected him. And this is very common and to no fault of hers. It's completely normal for that to happen.
10:01
She reportedly had told police on one occasion that she was driving during an incident. Friends tried to support her and encourage safety measures, you know, as my friends did me, like things to do, things to watch out for, you know, pack just in case you need to leave quickly, just things like that, that, you know, your loved ones want you to be prepared for the worst.
10:29
Now, on the morning of June 23rd, 2026, Dr. Andrew Hummel called 911 from their home, and this is on Lone Cedar Trail north of New London. He reported waking up and finding Allie unresponsive. Now, the Ralls County Sheriff's Deputies responded along with EMS and the New London Fire Department.
10:51
First responders found Allie unresponsive and efforts to revive her were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at their home. In audio obtained, Hummel actually states that her cause of death is waiting on toxicology and is going to show probably a sleeping medicine would be my guess.
11:12
I mean, why would you guess and why would you speculate? Maybe he knows. He also stated she had a sandwich next to the bed. And I think that's probably what she aspirated. But she vomited and was just too sedate to know and have a gag reflex.
11:32
I think I woke up about an hour too late. So, there's no way that he would have known that. And chances are if he was lying next to her, he would have heard her vomit. Of course, I don't know how peaceful of a sleeper he was, but I just have a lot of questions.
11:50
Many times, people who use, I think, and probably a lot are accused of being deceptive or vague. There's that. Now, the Rawls County coroner ordered an autopsy, and the death investigation is ongoing. Her cause of death now is pending toxicology, so nothing has really been released at this point.
12:13
Now, they should be anticipated soon. However, I can say that here, toxicology normally takes about 90 days to get back. I hope that they checked for more than just sleeping pills. I hope that they checked for the presence of drugs that he had access to.
12:35
Now, I believe that they are investigating this as an overdose, but it's officially unconfirmed. That's kind of just what I've been told. Dr. Hummel has not yet been accused of any crime in connection with her death, but he declined comment.
12:54
Media tried to contact him, and he basically is not talking to anybody. So, Allie was survived by family members. She has two sisters and her parents. Cooper was Allie's son, and he was expecting his own daughter named Mason.
13:16
So, she didn't even get to live to meet her sweet little granddaughter. A memorial page was actually established, and it's managed by her friend Kelsey. Donations were suggested in lieu of flowers to help a fund for Cooper to just kind of help with funeral details.
13:36
Although I've been told that Dr. Hummel has declined a funeral, declined a celebration of life, and declined flowers. As a death investigator, let's talk a little bit about this case. In cases like this, of unexpected death at home, especially with a young adult that doesn't have any real medical issues, no immediately apparent natural cause.
14:08
We would respond to the scene, of course, alongside law enforcement, document the scene thoroughly. We would document position of the body, any medications or substances present. And we have to note here that anesthesiologists many times have access to potent drugs like succinylcholine and opioids.
14:31
And so, taking that into account, looking thoroughly through the house to see if any of those medications are visible, checking the freezer, checking the refrigerator, taking photos of both of those things, checking the trash can, noting any vomit on the bed because he said she vomited, noting any medications that were found around her, taking note of what's in the nightstands.
15:02
I mean, I would have torn this house up and taken pictures of absolutely everything. We would note any visible signs of trauma, which I'm curious of. We would note lividity, rigor mortis. Again, we don't really try to estimate the time of death, so I don't know why he thought that he could.
15:24
Any environmental factors, any history. I mean, if he's saying that this is an overdose and that's how it was presented to the police, then that's kind of the rabbit hole they go down. And to make that suggestion to them causes them to investigate in that direction.
15:44
And that's not always fair either. So, I hope they're open-minded. And I'm sure they are, given the fact that this investigation is taking place very soon after a domestic assault. We would interview witnesses, including the person who found her.
16:01
So, we would definitely have talked to him. In Allie's case, with the prior domestic incident on record, the investigator should review that history, any prior medical records, any prescription history, and communications.
16:19
They should look in his phone, and they should look in her phone. They should look at computers, his computers, and also his work computer. I would personally check to make sure that there were no medications missing from his work and that everything had been properly accounted for there, that there was no history of him having stolen medications or no unexplained medications missing from the facility where he worked.
16:45
Now, the autopsy is going to look or did look at internal injuries, patiki eye, which is the little red dots in the eyes that would indicate possible strangulation or other issues. It could also indicate vomiting or some kind of pressure.
17:02
Any cardiac issues, and especially toxicology. Now, the manner of death, natural, accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined, depends on all the evidence that converges. Investigations like this sometimes take time because you have to, number one, wait on toxicology.
17:26
You've got to interview a lot of people. You've got to look into a lot of things. So, results for that can take weeks to months. And a big part of this past history is the responsibility of the coroner or the medical examiner because the pathologist that does the autopsy is going to be able to read this.
17:48
And if they know that this has happened in the past or that there has been domestic violence, then, you know, those injuries are things that they're going to look for probably a little bit closer. But we actually want to ensure that the medical and forensic aspects are accurately integrated so that that doctor can make that final determination accurately.
18:13
Allie is remembered as a nurse. She cared for others. Everyone is publicly sharing condolences and they're highlighting her as a great friend and a great professional. And her death has drawn a lot of attention locally and in the true crime community because we really want to raise awareness around domestic violence and resources and the need for support systems.
18:41
Next week on the podcast, I'm going to be interviewing her friend Kelsey. She will share some more personal insights, memories of Allie, and her perspective surrounding the circumstances of her friend's death.
18:56
And it'll be a respectful conversation that will actually honor Allie's life. Her death investigation continues, and we encourage listeners to support domestic violence resources if needed. There is always help if you're going through this.
19:15
If you know that your partner is unstable mentally, you have to know that they can't be trusted. If there's been domestic violence in the past, there's likely to be more, and it sometimes does get worse.
19:31
Now, the Ralls County Sheriff's Office is asking that you contact them if you have any information relevant to the investigation. As I'm sure many of her friends and family have reached out to them and given them additional information that they need, as well as maybe possible communications via text from Allie that they received prior to her death and before and after the initial assault.
20:02
But I really want to help find her justice. I just have to say on a personal note that it is really hard for me to believe that he is innocent. I don't trust abusers. I also did the same thing, though.
20:20
You know, we go back. We go back and we trust and we give second chances and ultimately end up leaving or staying and it gets better. But I don't really know of a lot of circumstances where that's happened.
20:38
There's a lot of things that go on behind closed doors and we all have friends that we feel like are threatened or family members that we feel like, you know, their lives are threatened and we don't like the situations that they're in, but they won't listen to us.
20:55
I've been guilty of that myself. It's hard to believe that someone you love will hurt you. I'm here to tell you that they will. I had been through it more than once with more than one partner. And I want to make it clear, it's not my current husband, but you trust and you go back and you hide it and you keep secrets.
21:17
And that's how you learn to live. And that's how you survive because they don't want you to tell anyone. And I think down deep, they know that you probably have because you have friends, right? And we share things.
21:32
We share things with our family and our friends, especially those that we're really close to. And so down deep, they know that everyone knows and that has to be embarrassing for them. And that seems like it would give them reason enough to behave and change.
21:46
But many people just have anger issues. And, you know, I can bet that that was the case here. I mean, where did the blood come from? There was blood on the bed in the hotel room when he assaulted her.
21:59
It was hers. Likely it was not his. And if it was, he hit something. I don't know. I just have so many questions. And I'm really excited to talk to Kelsey next week because I know that she can probably tell me a lot of things that, you know, are left unanswered in news media.
22:16
And again, I don't want to speculate. So, I'm not going to mention any of those things that her and I have discussed already. I want her to tell you firsthand. I want it to come straight from her. I don't want to switch it up at all.
22:29
I'm sure that we will get Kelsey on the line sometime this week and we'll be interviewing her and asking her a lot of questions to see what her take is on her friend Allie's death. Her son Cooper. Prayers got to him and her parents and all of her friends and everybody who has suffered this horrible loss.
22:51
I know it's so hard to take in. It's so different when someone dies tragically like this than if they had like a long-term illness or something that you know could potentially kill them. And there's always going to be questions that are unanswered and there probably still will be after the police finish the investigation and we may not get the answer we want.
23:16
That's one of the hardest things for me to learn to deal with. Whether it's because that's just the way it is or because a full investigation wasn't done or it wasn't investigated properly or things are missed.
23:33
We don't know, but we'll just have to wait to see until this toxicology comes back. Again, it could take, it could be any day because they may have a way to get it done quicker than we did. But here it takes about 90 days.
23:48
And so, we always told family that it takes a while. And again, it's going to be more detailed. Hopefully they're going to check for things that this doctor had access to. So, it's not going to be just your average toxicology report that checks for alcohol and THC and those types of things.
24:06
So, it's going to be more detailed, which could potentially take a little bit longer. Those are things we have to wait for. Sometimes waiting is the hardest part and it's something that we don't like to do, but we have to always hope that everybody's doing their job and doing their due diligence to try to get answers for Allie and her family and friends.
24:30
So, I am very much looking forward to my interview next week with Kelsey. And I'm super excited because I was nominated for one of the top podcasts in Denton, which, you know, Denton Small, trying to grow, looking for a social media manager, if anybody is interested.
24:53
I have posted that on my Facebook, but I am looking for somebody who can possibly travel with me, who can take photos, do videos, maybe help reach out to people for me to get interviews set up, other podcasters, as well as family members of victims.
25:14
So, I kind of need someone local and I want someone that's very well versed on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, all those things. Not someone who's learning because I'm learning. And if I could wait for that, I would do it myself.
25:33
I want someone who is very well versed. And so that is what I'm looking for. How many hours a week or whatnot that it entails just kind of depends on the week, I guess. But I love going into these deep dives on these cases.
25:49
And I really want somebody that can travel and help me continue to grow. I need to promote the subscription box. As all y'all know, I have my comic book that's been released and I'm working on writing my book.
26:05
And so, I'm hoping that will be released in the next six months or so. My goal is to have it ready to sell at CrimeCon next year, but it will also be on Audible and available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, as will the comic book.
26:24
Also hoping for subsequent comic books and episodes out there, just because it's different and it's entertaining and I had a lot of fun with that. And so hopefully y'all will love it too. So please subscribe, leave a review and share the love.
26:44
Let your friends know about the podcast. I think I picked up a couple of new listeners since I've been in Deadwood. And I try to hand out stickers and cards and everything to just grow the audience. But anything you can do to help me grow, I very much appreciate.
27:01
Again, till next time, we'll see you next week with Kelsey. Please take care of yourselves. I'll see you next week. Bye, y'all. Thank you so much for joining me today on Pushing Up Lilies. If you like this podcast and would like to share with others, please do me a quick favor and leave a review on Apple Podcast.
27:22
This helps to make the podcast more visible to the public. Thanks again for spending your time with me and be sure to visit me at pushinguplilies.com for merchandise and past episodes.