Father racked with questions over Arizona woman's death; homicide investigation continues

PHOENIX — The father of a woman found killed in her suburban Phoenix home said Friday he hasn't been able to sleep, instead imagining what happened to his caring, friendly daughter who was excited about her sales job and hoping to soon get engaged.

"It's really hard because we have all kinds of visualizations going on. We can't sleep at night," Harley Feldman said in phone interview from his home in Excelsior, Minnesota.

Feldman said police told him they don't know yet whether 31-year-old Allison Feldman of Scottsdale was the victim of a random attack.

Authorities were called Wednesday afternoon after the woman's boyfriend discovered her body.

On Friday, Scottsdale police Sgt. Ben Hoster declined to say whether investigators have identified a suspect. He said authorities were continuing to withhold many details, including the manner of death and whether there were signs of a break-in, a struggle or items missing from the home.

"We don't want to tip off possible suspects," Hoster said.

Investigators remained at the scene Friday.

Harley Feldman said his daughter lived in a safe neighborhood on the edge of Old Town Scottsdale, a bustling district known for its nightlife and restaurants and popular with out-of-town visitors.

Police had no previous interactions with Allison Feldman, authorities said. But at the request of her boyfriend, she installed an alarm system at her home about six weeks ago, her father said.

"Her boyfriend said, 'I don't like it when you're home by yourself,'" Harley Feldman said.

Allison Feldman worked in sales for a Swedish medical-device company and graduated in 2005 from the University of Arizona, where she studied Spanish and communications. She remained in Arizona after college partly because of the much warmer weather, Harley Feldman said.

She graduated in 2001 from Minnetonka High School, where she was a part of the dance line and a cheerleader for hockey, baseball and football.

"Her life was on the upswing. She was talking about getting engaged in a few months," Harley Feldman said. "No negatives in her life."

Now, he, his wife and other daughter are planning funeral services in Minnesota and Arizona. Harley Feldman said he can't understand why anyone would want to hurt his daughter. She was loved by her friends, co-workers and customers.

"Everybody liked her," Feldman said. "She's warm and friendly. She's caring. Those are the words people use all the time."

"She was a perfect child," Harley Feldman said. "We really miss her because [she was] kind and friendly and transparent and helped everybody she could find."