Man to raise sister's 4 children after stabbing | Crime/Police

For Clarence “Flash” Allen, there was no other choice.

He had spent his childhood in foster care, so when his sister was stabbed to death last month, Allen said he was determined to ensure a better fate for his four nieces and nephews. He mobilizes to raise them.

“When they look at me, they can think of her,” he said Tuesday. “Besides that, I plan to turn them into little stars.”

Clarence Allen, 31, became the stepfather of Carolina, 3, Keymonie, 6, Josiah, 7, and Aaliyah, 10. Their mother, Carol Allen, 32, had recently told her caseworker at the New Orleans Family Justice Center that she would want her brother to care for her babies if anything happened to him. Clarence Allen got his last wish.

“I always try to do well in this life,” he said.

A fatal encounter

Carol Allen was visiting a cousin in Baton Rouge with her four children on April 27 when she drove to Hammond for an appointment. There, police say, she met Christopher Wilson, 25, who allegedly tried to steal her car. Police said Allen fought back and Wilson stabbed her multiple times in the backseat of her car on West Pleasant Ridge Road. She later died at a nearby hospital.

Clarence Allen said he was at work when he received a panicked call from his cousin, informing him that his sister was missing.

“I was trying to calm my cousin down,” he said. “I just told him… 'Let me know what happens when the sheriff (arrives) at your house.'”

His cousin called back an hour later to tell him his sister had been killed.

“My jaw started to lock. My tears started to flow,” he said.

Wilson was quickly booked into the Tangipahoa Parish Prison on charges of first-degree murder and armed robbery with a knife. He was arrested May 1 in Natchitoches after calling police for help filling his bike's tire with air on Interstate 49. The officer found marijuana and a scale. He was arrested and jailed on a murder warrant, according to police.

A brotherly bond

Carol Allen grew up in southeastern Louisiana, primarily in Plaquemines Parish. She worked in the restaurant business throughout her adult life. Clarence Allen said his sister found him after they split up in foster care and invited him to live with her wherever she went. They are only two of a family of eight siblings, but they have always been the closest.

“Even though I was a little brother, I was always my sister’s big brother,” Clarence Allen said. “I just try to keep everything I can from her… Her children are the first thing that comes close to her. It helps me cope.

Clarence Allen called upon his inner strength to push him and the children through their grief. It's a step he says is made easier by the lack of distractions.

“It’s nothing new and I’m not really a party animal. I'm not an animal who smokes. I’m not a drinking animal,” he said. “It's beautiful. If anything, it just adds more spice to life.

So far, Clarence Allen has enrolled the children in summer camp with the help of the New Orleans Family Justice Center. They should also start receiving counseling soon. Clarence Allen took time off from his job at the grocery store to care for the kids, but when they start camp, he plans to return to more regular hours.

“I just try to make them feel comfortable and at home,” Clarence Allen said. “I have responsibilities now, and that’s beautiful for me.”

Last week, Clarence Allen began sharing custody of the children after a Baton Rouge judge granted his cousin joint custody until a court hearing in August. He then hopes to regain full custody of the children.

He created a GoFundMe to support him with his additional expenses.