|
Tuesday, February 15, 2005 -- 1:00 PM
Eddie Lynch was interviewed by telephone at his residence in Florida. The interview was conducted by
Detectives Armstrong and Murphy and was recorded on a portable tape
recorder with the witnesses' knowledge and consent.
- TA = Detective T. Armstrong
- SM = Detective S. Murphy
- EL = Eddie Lynch
SM: For the record, please state your name, age,
address and occupation.
EL: Let's see. My name is Eddie Lynch, 46. I live at 201 Saint
Cloud Village Court here in
Florida. As for my occupation, well, you name it and
I've probably done it. At the moment I'm unemployed.
SM: Mr. Lynch, were you visiting your
brother, Mark, in Taylor, Mississippi around Christmas last year?
EL: Yes, it is true, Detective. I like the country
air every now and then. Lot fewer screaming wives out
there in the country, you know.
SM: While you were visiting, did you witness anything
bizarre or unusual?
EL: Sure I did. That's why I go to Mississippi.
That's why I love it. I'm a connoisseur of all things
bizarre and unusual. Anything specific? Let's see... I
saw an armadillo eating out of a box of Kentucky Fried
Chicken on Old Taylor Road. I met a fella who told me he
was throwing a party in the sewer because he and some
buddies were looking for buried treasure. I met a lady
who told me she lost a finger in a photocopying accident. Sure enough,
she was missing an index finger. That the kind of stuff
you want to know?
SM: Let's focus on Taylor and the people there.
EL: Look, I'm not gonna get into anybody's business.
If I start gossiping about those folks and you
police go down there harassing 'em, they ain't gonna have
me back in Mississippi. Now if there's something specific
I can tell you about...
TA: Did you notice anything strange near Taylor
Creek?
EL: Let's see, yeah. Yeah, I guess I can tell you
this. I was having a little smoke on the
front porch there at Mark's and I notice this smoke
rising up out of the trees over by that creek. It wasn't
huge or nothin'. Just looked like maybe a campfire. Or
hell, maybe it was fog.
SM: What time was this?
EL: I don't generally trouble myself with watches or clocks,
but I'd estimate it was around 1:00 or 2:00.
SM: In the afternoon?
EL: Naw, in the morning.
SM: Did you see an actual fire or just smoke?
EL: Just the smoke.
TA: Could you tell where it was coming from?
EL: Hard to tell from where I was and the state I was
in, but I'd say it was coming from across the street over by the creek,
a good ways back from the road.
TA: Did you check it out?
EL: Well, I was gonna walk down there and I went inside to put
my shoes on, but there was some dirty movie on the TV, so I sat down and
finished watching it and passed out. Next morning,
I took a little walk and went down that way and didn't
see nothin'. But I didn't get off into the creek. I just
stood by the road and looked down there. It's a beautiful
creek. It really is.
TA: Did you ever hear any gunshots in the area?
EL: No, no gunshots. Aside from mine.
TA: Yours?
EL: I shot Mark's gun off a time or two. There's moccasins
back in the pond behind his house. I got the
gun and fired off a couple of rounds in there to scare
'em. I hate snakes, man.
TA: What kind of gun does Mark have?
EL: You mean, what kind doesn't he have? Oh, Lord, I
couldn't tell you. He's got a gun closet full. I'm not a
big weapons man myself, but like any man, I get off on
shooting those things, you know. I guess this one I was
using was a .44 pistol maybe.
TA: Does he shoot these guns often?
EL: Aw c'mon. They're for sport. He shoots deer with
'em. It's like a sport, you know. I remember when we used
to take his pistol down to the creek there and toss our
beer cans off one side of the bridge and walk over to the
other and wait for 'em to float by, then just unload on
'em. It was a game. We pretended like we were border cops
shootin' at illegal aliens.
SM: We heard from one of Mark's neighbors that a man fitting
your description was seen wading in the pond behind the house. Was
that you?
EL: That jackass? Hell, yeah, that was me. Some jerk
thinks he's gonna tell me what to do? I don't think so. I'm a grown man
and he's yelling at me not to go in the water 'cause there's snakes in
there like I'm some kid. I wasn't even gonna go in the water 'til he
said that.
SM: So you went into a pond with snakes in it just because
some guy told you not to?
EL: Look, there's a lot of people around today who think they
can tell you what to do, but that doesn't work on me. And it's not like
I was swimming laps in there or something. I just went in a little ways
and walked around some. Not like I'm scared of a snake or two.
SM: Wasn't it a bit cold to be going in a pond, even if it was
just a little?
EL: Nah, it wasn't cold. It wasn't like Florida or anything,
but it musta been 60 degrees or more. Warm enough that it wasn't no
problem to show that guy what a jackass he was.
SM: By any chance, was this around Wednesday, December 22nd?
EL: Hell, I don't remember dates. I don't even own a
calendar.
SM: What were you doing on that date?
EL: No idea.
TA: We understand that Mark had to go back to Memphis for
truck repairs that day. Does that jog your memory?
EL: Yeah, okay. Let me see. I probably slept until noon or so, and
then I think I went in to Oxford for the afternoon. Yeah,
'cause I met up with some old buddies there, just people I
knew of from previous visits.
TA: Who were they?
EL: You know Marshall Pidgin? He's the one. The rest
of 'em, I just know first names. Anyways, me and Marshall
were at Murff's for a better part of the afternoon just
sippin' cold ones and swappin' tales.
TA: And what about that night?
EL: I ended up back at the house before nightfall and
just read, I think. Watched a little TV probably. Mark
didn't come home that night 'cause he stayed up at work.
He got in the next morning.
TA: What did he talk about?
EL: I think he was braggin' about hookin' up with some
dancer he knew up there. I don't really remember.
TA: Now in relation to that day, when would you say
you saw the smoke near Taylor Creek?
EL: Hmm. It seems like it was maybe a couple, three days after
the, what did you say, the 22nd?
TA: That's right.
EL: Okay, well, it wasn't on Christmas so I guess that means the 24th. That's
the day I saw the smoke. That night.
TA: Did you see any cars driving down near the
creek and stopping?
EL: No, don't recall any cars. I wouldn't have been
able to make 'em out from the road with my eyesight.
TA: But you could tell there was smoke?
EL: Yeah, well, I smelled it too. Then I went and got my
glasses and could see better. It was definitely rising up
out of the woods.
TA: What kind of smell?
EL: Like fire, of course.
TA: But was there a certain type of wood?
EL: Hell, man, I don't know. A fire's a fire to me.
TA: Did Mark ever mention a girl named Denise Hartigan?
EL: No. Never heard of her. He mentioned plenty of
chicks, but never heard of that one.
TA: What about Nicole Barry?
EL: Oh yeah. I met her at one of the parties. Nice
lookin' gal, sure, but she's a lesbian. That was a
never-ending source of frustration for Mark. He was
just steamin' about it. But you gotta understand, Mark is not
generally a man of action. Unless his honor is
threatened, he ain't gonna mess with you.
SM: Have you ever seen him behave violently?
EL: Oh, I've seen him pissed off, like anybody. Over the
years, we've
had our share of brawls in bars and, hell, with each
other for that matter. I ain't never seen him go too far
in hurtin' anybody, though. And he ain't never hit a
woman that I know of.
TA: What about Grant Sexton. Does that name ring a
bell?
EL: Nope. Seems like I would have remembered a
high-falutin' name like that.
TA: What made you come to visit Mark on this
particular occasion?
EL: Christmas. My in-laws were coming. That was the big reason. Also, I just felt stagnant here. I'd been
working on a tuna boat for about two months, and I'd had
about enough of the sea. I needed to get further inland
for a spell, and I always like to visit Taylor. Me and
Mark get along just great. He don't mind me crashin' on
his couch.
TA: Okay, Mr. Lynch. Thanks for talking to us. We'll be in
touch if we have any more questions.
EL: You betcha.
Interview ends --
1:51 PM |
