Monday, February 2, 2004 -- 1:40 PM

The witness, who was described as bartender at the Yoknapatawpha County Conference Center, was interviewed by Detectives Armstrong and Murphy at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department. The interview was recorded on a portable tape recorder with the witness' knowledge and consent.  

SM: Thank you for coming in today.

NA: No problem. I don't have to work until this evening. I got time.

SM: Can you tell us your name and address?

NA: I'm Nick. Nick Avanuthar. I live at 134 Avent Street. Here in Oxford, over by the cemetery.

SM: And what is your occupation?

NA: I'm a bartender. I work at the lounge in the Yoknapatawpha County Conference Center. I sometimes pick up shifts at other joints around town when they need help. Sometimes at Murff's. I pick up some catering gigs and private party work as well. YCCC is my main job.

SM: How old are you?

NA: I'm 28.

TA: How long you been serving?

NA: Four or five years now. I started when I was still in school, just working part-time. For about the last two years, I've been working fulltime.

TA: Finish school?

NA: Well, uh, you know. Maybe it finished me, hah. I just got about halfway through a major in Southern Studies and thought "what in the world am I gonna do with a degree in something like this?" So I took a semester off and just never went back. I always thought I would figure out what I wanted to do with my life, but here I am. I'll go back and finish at some point; it's definitely a goal. But for right now, I'm doing okay.

SM: We're trying to gather some initial information in regards to our investigation of the murder of Barbara Dubois. Do you know who we're talking about?

NA: Sure. She's that beauty queen.

SM: Did you know her?

NA: I wish! I mean, I don't want to sound disrespectful. But she was a beautiful girl. I passed her in the hotel a couple times, I'd seen her around. I would say hello and she would say hello. But that was it. She probably didn't even know my name.

SM: Where were you on the night of January 30?

NA: I was at the bar. I was working that night. I had specifically requested that night be put on my schedule. I knew all the beauty pageant folks would be in the bar. I thought I might meet some interesting people.

TA: Interesting?

NA: Yeah, you got me. Some hot girls, to tell the truth. I figured the finalists probably wouldn't be partying that much, since they were still in the competition and all. But the girls that had already been cut, I thought they might want to cut loose a little. Blow off some steam.

SM: What time does your shift start?

NA: I got there about four-thirty that afternoon. We get in there a little early on big nights. Make some extra appetizers for people that might want to order them at the bar. Stock up on all the drinks. Cut up lots of extra limes and garnishes. Just get ready for a busy night.

TA: Was it busy?

NA: Not at first. Most of the people were all getting ready for the gala. We had a few older men come in, bored and needing something to steel them for the party. Those are the guys that are always loosening their ties. They look all uncomfortable in a suit. Probably somebody's father. They sneak in while their wives are still doing their hair and they throw back a scotch or something to stiffen 'em up for the rest of the night.

SM: Did business pick up during the evening?

NA: Yeah, definitely. The kitchen staff told me the gala dinner was scheduled to end at 10:30. About 10:45 or so, people started slowly rolling in. By about 11:00, we were pretty busy.

TA: How busy?

NA: It's all relative. We're a lounge in a conference center. We aren't Murff's or Proud Larry's or one of the big college hangouts. So a busy night for us would be a totally dead night for those places. But most of our tables were full. And there weren't many seats at the bar. That's a busy night. But it's not like everyone is jammed in there, body to body, like at Murff's.

SM: So you can wait on almost everyone yourself then?

NA: All the people at the bar, I definitely wait on them. We've got one or two waitresses that get the folks sitting at the tables.

SM: Do you remember anyone acting unusual that night? Or anyone that seemed out of place?

NA: No, not at all. Pretty normal crowd, really.

SM: We're going to give you some names. Could you tell us if they came into the bar that evening?

NA: Sure. I mean, I might not know the people's names. But if it was someone I knew, or if they signed a credit card or something, I might recognize their name.

SM: How about Frank Margold. Do you know him?

NA: No, I don't know him. Who is he? Is there any way you can describe him?

TA: He's one of the pageant judges.

NA: No, I doubt he came in. It's possible, but everyone told me those guys usually stay out of the bar. They don't want to give the impression that they aren't taking their judging seriously. So he could have been there, like I said, I don't know him. But I doubt it.

SM: What about Denny Buchanan?

NA: Yeah.

TA: You know him?

NA: He's a jerk. Everyone who went to Ole Miss in the last decade either knows him or knows of him. One of the girls said she was serving him, only he'd take his drinks and leave. No tip. He didn't order anything from me.

SM: About what time was that?

NA: Before 11:00. I don't remember the girls saying anything after that. And they would have said something. Jerk. May have even stiffed a server.

SM: What about Allie Lamar?

NA: No, I don't believe she came in. I've met her a couple of times, worked some private parties for her. If she came in, I didn't see her.

SM: How about Bill Lamar?

NA: Yeah, he was definitely there. I met him years ago. We aren't friends exactly, but we had some mutual acquaintances. This was before he took off for Europe. He was knockin' 'em back pretty good that night.

TA: He drank a lot?

NA: Yeah, I guess you could say that. He came in around midnight, maybe a little after. He started drinking pretty hard. Had four or five beers and then switched to vodka. He said that you drink beer in Europe so much -- they sell it at McDonald's over there -- that it didn't have any affect on him. He said he wanted something stronger.

SM: How would you describe his mood?

NA: I don't really know the guy that well. He seemed quiet, didn't seem interested in talking to anyone. Just wanted to drink. And that's not unusual. I see that a lot. Lots of folks just want to get tanked. Some do it to celebrate; some do it to ease some sort of pain. It's none of my business. He's of the legal age and he told me he was staying in the hotel so I didn't have to worry about him driving. I figured I'd let him get blasted as much as he wanted and if I had to, I could always get a luggage cart from the front desk and carry him to his room.

SM: What time did he leave?

NA: He left the bar about one. A little before.

TA: He didn't spend long at the bar. He came in around midnight and left around one?

NA: Boy was doing work. Didn't take him long. He was serious about it.

SM: How drunk was he when he left?

NA: Not quite puking drunk, but staggering. For sure. He didn't come back in the rest of the night.

SM: Instead of us just throwing out names, why don't you tell us who you recognized?

NA: Lucille Ruffin-Moore came in. Maybe around 11:00, left shortly after. She left probably about 11:30, give or take. She's a bit of a celebrity in Oxford. Or maybe notorious is a better way of putting it. Snotty, stuffy, old bag. Real stickler for everything. We used to make fun of her name, say that it really meant "rough and more." She had a few glasses of wine, pretty quickly, and then left. Wendy Kullman was there for about half an hour. Right around midnight. Had a drink or two and then left. I knew her from all of her making a big deal about animals and all that. You see her in the paper all the time. Hmmm, other than that, it was just the usual crowd. I could give you their names.

SM: The usual crowd? Meaning they were regulars who didn't seem attached to the pageant?

NA: Yeah. They're in the bar every night. You want their names?

SM: If you would just write them down before you leave the department today, that would be a big help.

NA: And of course there were a bunch of the pageant folks in there. People I didn't know but who clearly were related to the contest.

SM: What time did you get off that night?

NA: I left about three. I finished cleaning up and doing all that stuff. Then I went to Four Corners Chevron, got some chicken on a stick and went home. My girlfriend was there and she got out of bed and we sat around and drank some beer and then went to bed.

SM: Okay, thanks. We'll probably be in touch with you again.

Interview ends -- 2:18 PM