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Sunday, August 15, 2004 -- 10:20 AM
The witness, who had the male lead role in the victim's
film, was interviewed at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Office. The
interview was conducted by Detectives Armstrong and Murphy and was
recorded on a portable tape recorder with the witness' knowledge and
consent.
- TA = Detective T. Armstrong
- SM = Detective S. Murphy
- BF = Brett Flamé
TA: All right, son, for the record,
please state your name, age, address and occupation.
BF: Brett Miller, 23, actor.
I live at 412 Mimosa, and I’m sure I’ve been evicted from
there for failure to pay rent, so I guess I’m homeless. In care
of the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.
TA: What’s this Miller?
I thought you said your name was Flame.
BF: It's pronounced Flah-may, and that’s my screen name. You
know...
SM: What’s it mean?
BF: I dunno.
TA: They tell me you’re a strange guy. Any
truth to that?
BF: I’ve been misunderstood my whole life. What can I tell you? What can I tell you that you haven’t already
decided for yourself? Are you gonna put me away or what?
TA: Who’s asking the questions here?
BF: F*** the questions, chief. What you want is
answers, am I right?
TA: Yeah, so...
BF: So.
SM: So did you do it? Did you kill Corwin Fitz?
BF: I told you I did.
SM: I know you told us, but did you actually do
it?
BF: Of course I did it. Damn it, put me away.
SM: Why did you do it?
BF: I just helped facilitate. It was his will.
He wanted out.
TA: You can’t help someone commit suicide.
It’s ridiculous. It’s murder.
BF: He was gonna kill me. Can you blame him? I
admire the hell out of him. I’ve thought of bailing out myself.
Many a times... after a good performance. Take a bow, stick a gun in
my mouth and shower the audience with gray matter. Share my knowledge
with them.
SM: When did he ask you kill him?
BF: You were supposed to say, "So, what’s stopping you?"
SM: We'll pick our own questions, thanks. Now tell us exactly what happened. Did
Fitz ask you
to kill him?
BF: Yes.
SM: When did he ask you?
BF: Only every day! Every day for the
f*****g life of me! No need to feel sorry for him!
SM: Okay, when did he threaten to kill you?
BF: He shot at me one day, several days ago. Probably
three or four days before I did it. I was doing a scene and we didn’t
agree about how it should be played, so he chased me up a tree and started
shooting at me. I felt the bullets whizzing past my face as he was yelling,
"Why won’t you kill me!" That kind of s*** will make
you react. It gives new meaning to assisted suicide. You’re a cop.
You ever ask yourself that question: Him or me?
TA: Never mind that. At what point--
BF: Man, what if I had a gun stashed
in my boot right now and I pulled it out right here?
TA: All right, now just sit down and stop acting crazy! We all
know you were searched before you came in here and there's no way you
have a gun, so just stop with the nut-job act.
BF: See there. See there! Everything’s
an act. That’s some Dirty Harry s*** right there.
TA: Enough of this playing around. Are you gonna
answer our questions? How do we need to see this through, boy? I’m
beginning to think you’re full of it.
BF: Look, man, I’ll tell you what happened.
Me and Fitz, we’d been going at it for days, round and round.
The movie had pretty much come to a halt, and the dam was ready to break,
no doubt about it. Fitz had tried everyone’s patience. He’d
assaulted almost everybody. Just insane behavior, trying to keep us
on the set. He tied Johnny up. He raped Katrina and kept her in this vile
sexual servitude. He shot at me and threatened to cut me in my bunk
at night. We were all out of our minds, man. So the night before I did
it, and I don’t even remember the day of the week, he put a f****n’
snake in my bunk. Luckily, I found it before climbing in, but I couldn’t
sleep all night because of that and the screams coming from his
bedroom. I guess he had Katrina in there doing God-knows-what. I was so
wired, and everybody was lookin’ to me to do it. So this morning
I kicked the f****n’ door in, and I took his
machete, and I ripped into him. And then I took one of his guns and I put a couple of fat ones
in his head. And I ain’t a bit sorry.
SM: Would you sign a confession attesting to this?
BF: You bet I would. I couldn’t give a s***
at this point, to be honest with you. I’m a hero. Just ask those
six people. I’m a hero. I’m the star.
SM: Tell us what he did to Katrina.
BF: I’ll say no more. I’ve told you
everything there is.
TA: You’re telling us he tortured all of you.
BF: That’s right.
SM: Why did you stand for it? Why not just leave
and report his behavior to the police?
BF: Look, he was shooting at us. He would have
killed us had we left.
SM: When did this behavior begin?
BF: Uh...
TA: Miller, when did Fitz begin acting this
way?
BF: I’ve told you what you wanted to know.
SM: There are too many holes here. Now, why won’t
you clarify this?
BF: Look here, how long do I have to let my hands
soak in blood? Don’t gimme that, I can wring my own neck. And
God knows I can wring yours. But what good would it do any of us? We
may as well be at the arcade tossing quarters down the chute.
TA: Miller!
BF: Last night, I dreamed that I died, but my spirit
wouldn’t rise. I was abandoned on earth, and what few spirits lingered
would have nothing to do with me.
TA: Are you going to tell us anything about what happened in
real life and not your imaginary world?
BF: Who knows, man? Who knows what's real and what's
not? How can you tell?
TA: Okay, that’s it. Enough.
BF: Good night. To sleep, perchance to dream. Aye, there's the
rub.
TA: Whatever you say, kid.
Interview ends -- 10:48 AM |
