Friday, February 12, 2010, 3:45 p.m.
The witness, W. Ronald Douglas, was the victim's attorney.
Sheriff's Detectives Sam Murphy and Tim Armstrong interviewed Mr.
Douglas at his office, 1021 Van Buren Avenue, Oxford, MS.
Detective Sam Murphy
W. Ronald Douglas
Detective Murphy: Thank you for meeting with us again, Mr.
Douglas.
Ronald Douglas: Certainly.
Detective Murphy: Were you aware of your client,
Devlin Beauchamp, being in any danger?
Ronald Douglas: I'm not sure that I know what you mean.
Detective Murphy: Was there anyone that Mr. Beauchamp
was fighting with, arguing with? Anyone who might want to cause him
harm?
Ronald Douglas: I believe we've been over this before.
Detective Murphy: Yes, but during our search of Mr.
Beauchamp's home, we found two letters addressed to him and signed by
you. You seemed very concerned about his well-being.
Ronald Douglas: Well, yes. There were some delicate matters
that Devlin was involved in, revolving around a woman named Posner.
Detective Murphy: Natalie Posner?
Ronald Douglas: Yes, that's the one. I'm not sure how much
detail I can give here. Devlin wasn't terribly forthcoming about the
situation, so I don't know much. But he also didn't want me telling
anything to the police, so I have to be careful to respect his wishes.
Detective Murphy: I understand.
Ronald Douglas: Let's just say that Devlin came to me in the
early part of the fall with some concerns that this Natalie person
might be in Oxford and using a fake identity. I got the idea that this
person may have been a fugitive from the law, but he didn't explicitly
say that.
Detective Murphy: And what was your advice?
Ronald Douglas: You have the letters. Basically, I just told
him that, without knowing more details, I couldn't give any direct
advice. I told him to be careful and to please give me more information.
Detective Murphy: Did Mr. Beauchamp ever provide you with more
details?
Ronald Douglas: In a way. At the end of December, he told me
that his fears had been confirmed. He never divulged the actual
details. He just said, "My fears were correct." He was nervous and
scared, and he felt a bit guilty. As though he should have been able to
handle the situation.
Detective Murphy: What was your advice at that point?
Ronald Douglas: I suggested that we turn the matter over to
the authorities. He didn't really want to do that. He was worried about
what might happen to the woman.
Detective Murphy: Did you ever learn the true identity of this
mystery woman?
Ronald Douglas: No. Devlin kept wavering. One minute, he
seemed to want to tell me and for us to go to the police. Other times,
he acted like it would just go away on its own. Or as though he could
take care of the situation himself.
Detective Murphy: Did you ever think of contacting my
department directly?
Ronald Douglas: No. Of course, Devlin's conversations with me
were protected by the attorney-client privilege. I could have only come
to you if I had factual evidence that a crime was being planned. I had
nothing of the sort. In fact, what would I have told you? My client
seemed to be scared of some woman, but I didn't know who or where she
was or why exactly he was scared of her? That's not very much to go on.
I had no name, no details, no facts, nothing.
Detective Murphy: Can you speculate as to who the person might
be?
Ronald Douglas: I'm not even going to try. Devlin came into
contact with many women. Some were customers at the restaurant, some
played on his softball team, some worked for him, and he frequently
dated different women. If I tried to guess, I'd just be throwing darts
in the dark.
Detective Murphy:I don't mean to sound rude, but you don't
seem to know very much about your client.
Ronald Douglas: As I said, Devlin really didn't give me much
to go on. What few details he provided, he explicitly requested that I
not tell the police. Even though he has passed on, my main
responsibility is to honor my client's wishes. So, I'm kinda on a
tightrope here.
Detective Murphy: Okay, I understand. Thank you for your time.
Interview ends: 4:08 p.m. |
