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Wednesday, August 6, 2003 - 10:00 a.m.
This witness, identified as the victim's wife, was interviewed at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Office. The interview was conducted by Det. Sam Murphy and Det. Ted Armstrong, and was recorded on a portable tape recorder with the witness's knowledge and consent.
- TA = Detective T. Armstrong
- SM = Detective S. Murphy
- CF = Cindy Fine
TA: Thanks for coming in to talk with us again, Mrs. Fine. Can you state your name and address again for the record?
CF: Sure. Cynthia Campbell Fine, 596 Hathorn Road.
TA: Great. Now, Mrs. Fine, we'd like to go over again what happened the night you last saw your husband.
CF: Okay -- I mean, I want to help and -- well, I told you everything I know.
TA: Right. Well then, let's see if we got it right the first time. You showed up at Duffy's around 7:30, 8:00?
CF: Yes. I think so.
TA: And you left around midnight?
CF: Yes. I took the car home.
SM: Why did you leave without your husband, Mrs. Fine?
CF: I -- well, I was tired. Real tired.
SM: What happened right before you left?
CF: Um, nothing. I mean -- Carl and Andy were playing pool and I just got real tired. I... well, I was just being a spoil sport, so I went home.
TA: What about the watch?
CF: What?
TA: The watch. A couple of folks said your husband lost his watch.
CF: Um -- I -- you mean Carl? Or --
TA: Just tell us what happened.
CF: Oh. Well, I -- Andy... he, um, he had this watch, it was his favorite -- I mean, it was his only watch, of course. We didn't have much money for that kind of thing. Anyway, I -- he took it off to play pool and put it on the table where I was sitting and I-- well, I must have misplaced it-- lost it. He... well, he didn't want to leave until we found it. I don't know what happened-- I must've lost it.
SM: How could you have lost it? Did you throw it away?
CF: No. No-- I just mean, well, I guess I wasn't keeping my eye on things. You know... I was busy eating and talking with Eddie and Dudley.
SM: But that doesn't mean you lost it.
CF: No. It's just-- well, I-- Andy was kind of upset. I felt really bad.
SM: So you were looking for the watch and that's when you left?
CF: Yes. I just got... well... I guess I just got tired.
TA: Eddie and Dudley -- that's Eddie Dooley and Dudley Brinkman, right?
CF: Yes, that's right.
TA: How well do you know them?
CF: Um, I don't know Eddie too much. He's mostly Andy's friend, you know, from Duffy's.
TA: And what about Dudley? Was he Andy's drinking buddy too?
CF: What? Oh-- no, no, not at all. Dudley-- he wasn't like that. He definitely wasn't one of Andy's favorite people.
SM: Why's that?
CF: Oh, um, he... well, he was more the quiet reserved type. He hardly ever goes to Duffy's. I don't know exactly why he was there. He-- well, I guess you could say we were friends in school.
SM: Friends?
CF: Yes. I-- well, he took piano lessons from my father. And we went on a couple of dates, I guess. It wasn't a big deal. You know... high school. I didn't date anyone real seriously back then. I didn't... well... Andy was the first time I fell in love.
SM: Right. So were you and Dudley ever... intimate?
CF: Gosh, no. Never.
SM: And how often did you see him since then?
CF: Since high school? Um... I don't know. Not often. It's a small town. Uh, sometimes I would run into him in the store and what have you. Saw him at church, I guess. I would always say hello. Uh, he seems like such a lonely person. I always hoped he might find a nice girl to settle down with.
SM: And how often did you see him at Duffy's?
CF: Um-- well, like I said, I hardly ever saw him. Um, I only went to the bar a few times and maybe in all those years, once? I don't remember. I'm sorry.
TA: That's okay. And you never saw Mr. Brinkman socially aside from that?
CF: Gosh, no. I had my hands full.
SM: Okay. So that night at Duffy's, was Dudley still there when you left?
CF: No. He must've left-- I don't know-- sometime earlier. I'm sorry. I didn't notice.
SM: And you didn't see him after that, maybe in the parking lot?
CF: No. Not at all.
TA: Your husband didn't seem too happy to see Mr. Brinkman.
CF: What?
TA: We hear Andy and Dudley almost got in a fight.
CF: No, it wasn't like that. I-- he was just playing pool, having a good time. Dudley acted so... timid around Andy. And he didn't like that. It-- well, sometimes Andy gets carried away. He keeps trying to get a reaction. Sometimes he got into fights.
TA: We heard. So how did it all end up?
CF: Well, I-- Dudley just got up and left. Andy kept yelling at him, but nothing happened.
SM: And then you left.
CF: Yes. I mean-- it was later. Like I said, it was after midnight. I felt bad about it, but-- I-- well, I just wasn't helping much. It was so late. I wasn't thinking.
SM: How did Andy feel about you leaving?
CF: He-- I-- well, I just left. I mean, he was kind of upset... I-- um, do we have to talk about this? It's private.
TA: Mrs. Fine, more than 10 people said they saw your husband physically threaten you in the bar.
CF: No! No, that's just-- no. That's not right. He was just upset about the watch, he... didn't know what he was doing. He had too much to drink. And-- well, I was right there the whole time, I-- I mean, he's right, I didn't see what happened to the watch.
SM: You mean you deserved to be hit?
CF: He didn't hit me. I mean-- no. No, he didn't hit me. He wouldn't hit me like that. He-- I mean, he was just trying to have a good time. He was upset about the watch.
SM: Did your husband hit you often?
CF: No. He didn't-- I mean, he didn't hit me... never. He never hit me. I-- like I said before, I tried to give him his freedom, he needed that. I-- he-- I just wanted to help him.
SM: Did he want your help?
CF: No. I mean-- I'd rather not answer that. It was our marriage. I... want to keep those memories for my own.
SM: Okay. So what happened at the bar? If he didn't hit you, what did he do?
CF: He-- well, he was pretty upset about the watch. I wasn't keeping an eye on it-- and I-- he was yelling at me about that, I guess. That's when I got tired, he... well, that's when I went home.
TA: Okay. Now, why didn't you tell us this before?
CF: I'm sorry.
SM: It's all right. We're just trying to understand.
CF: Well, I-- you know, I'm so ashamed. I just wanted to help him, and-- well-- I don't see any reason to gossip about our private life. I was committed to our marriage.
SM: What else did you keep quiet about?
CF: What do you mean?
SM: Was he hitting you?
CF: No! No. He-- I really don't want to talk about this. I wish you would respect that, I-- I'm sorry. This is really hard for me.
SM: Mrs. Fine, I don't want to upset you, you can take your time. But plenty of people we talked to had the idea that your husband treated you pretty rough--
CF: It's not true!
SM: --and you're not saying anything about it, which is very loyal. But you also didn't say anything about the watch when you came to talk to us last time. So how do we know you're not lying?
CF: No! I'm not lying-- I can't lie, it's wrong. I... oh gosh, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say.
SM: Just tell us the truth. He hit you, didn't he?
CF: I can't... I'm sorry. No. I can't. I-- can I have a couple of minutes? I need to-- I need to think. I need to pray. Please.
TA: All right.
[Interview suspended 10:24 a.m.]
[Interview resumed 10:32 a.m.]
TA: Now then, Mrs. Fine. Whenever you're ready.
CF: All right. I'm sorry.
SM: That's okay. Just tell us about Andrew -- did he ever hit you?
CF: Yes.
SM: How often?
CF: Hardly ever. He-- I don't know, sometimes he would get in these moods. He would be so tired from work, and I was such a stick in the mud. I never wanted to just go out and have fun, he-- I think that bothered him. I bothered him... all I wanted to do was help but-- I just bothered him all the time.
SM: Would you say he hit you every night?
CF: No. No-- nothing like that.
SM: How often would you say it was?
CF: I-- gosh, I-- I don't know. It was usually when he had something to drink, or he was upset about work. I don't know. I'm sorry, I just-- well, I tried to just work through it.
SM: What would you do when it happened?
CF: Um, usually nothing happened. I mean-- he just fell asleep or left or... I would let him go and then I would go to bed. In the morning, it was like it never happened, he-- it would be like starting over. A clean slate. I-- he always apologized. He would just get so fed up with me. I didn't want to burden him.
TA: You never called the police?
CF: No. No-- I didn't want to betray him... I'm sorry, that's what it feels like. I feel like I'm betraying him.
TA: That's okay, Mrs. Fine. Take your time.
CF: No. Go on.
TA: When this happened, you never felt angry? Did you ever hit him back?
CF: What? No. Never, I-- I could never hurt him.
TA: But that night in the bar, he was threatening you and you walked out on him. You said he was pretty upset.
CF: Yes, but I-- well, I just didn't have the patience that night. It was my fault. He needed me to help find the watch, but he never did.
SM: He told you that?
CF: What?
SM: He told you he never found the watch?
CF: Yes. He was real mad.
SM: Now when was this exactly? When he came home later on?
CF: Well, I came home early in the car, and Andy came home later -- and he said that the watch had been stolen and that it was my fault. I told him that I would go back to the bar and look for it some more, and he said it was too late. Eddie Dooley had already stolen it. I just... wasn't watching close enough. He just stole it right out from under me. He was pretty mad.
SM: What time was this, would you say?
CF: Uh, well, maybe 1:30, 2:00?
SM: Were you waiting up?
CF: No. I went to bed. You know-- I felt so tired.
SM: Right. But he got home and woke you?
CF: Yes. He... well, he was still pretty drunk. He had a bottle of whisky or something. I think he got it from the cupboard.
SM: Mrs. Fine, what happened at that point?
CF: Well, he... I... I'm sorry. It's just so hard.
SM: That's okay.
CF: He hit me pretty bad. I kept saying I was sorry and he just kept yelling and-- he kept swinging at me... I-- oh-- forgive me. I'm so weak.
SM: That's okay. What happened after that?
CF: He left.
TA: He took the car?
CF: Yes. He got in the car.
TA: And that was the last time you saw him?
CF: Yes. I... I was trying to get him to settle down-- you know, if he could just pass out. I told him, keep hitting me -- just don't leave. I guess I had a bad feeling... I didn't know... it's so horrible. He-- I just couldn't get him to stay.
SM: You weren't angry about it?
CF: No.
TA: Mrs. Fine, you've changed your story quite a bit since the last time we talked. How do we know you didn't hit him back, maybe hit him a little too hard?
CF: What?
TA: Did anyone see you that night? Did anyone see him leave?
CF: I don't know. I don't think so. I mean... yes-- I went to Robyn's. That's where I ended up.
TA: When?
CF: After he left. He, um, took the car-- he had the car with him. I had to call.
SM: Is this something that happened a lot? You calling her in the middle of the night?
CF: No. I only did it maybe once or twice before-- you know-- he would be in such a bad mood and I wanted to get out of his way, leave him alone. I just went and stayed at Robyn's for the night.
TA: So what time was it when you got there?
CF: Oh gosh, I don't know. Maybe 2:00, 2:30? I don't know.
SM: What happened when you got there?
CF: Oh, um, she just put me to bed in the guest room. It was so late, I-- well, I was kind of upset. She told me we'd talk about it tomorrow. She told me not to worry.
SM: She didn't call the police?
CF: No. I wouldn't let her.
TA: Okay. So then the next morning what happened? Did your husband come back?
CF: No. No. That part was true -- I never saw him again. He never came back. I-- if only I knew... He never wanted to hurt anyone. I just don't understand... I'm sorry, this has been so hard for me.
TA:That's okay, Mrs. Fine.
CF: Can I go? I-- oh gosh, I'm really late for work. I'm sorry.
SM: We just need a few more minutes of your time, Mrs. Fine. We've got a technician outside. We need to get samples of your blood and hair.
CF: What? Why?
SM: We need to compare them to some evidence we've found. You understand. To exclude you from the crime scene.
CF: Oh. Well... do you have to? I'm kinda late for work.
SM: I understand. It will only take a few minutes and then you can be on your way. I want you to know that we do have a warrant to collect those samples, but I don't think we need to use that to get you to stay. I know you want to do anything you can to help us find your husband's killer.
CF: Yes! Of course I do. Right. Do I need to go somewhere?
TA: No, you can just wait right here. The technician will come in.
CF: Okay. I'm sorry.
TA: Sorry for what?
CF: I-- uh, for bothering you with all my questions. I don't know.
TA: It's okay to ask questions, Mrs. Fine. Do you want to ask anything else?
CF: No.
TA: All right. Just keep your seat and the technician will be right in.
End interview - 11:08 a.m.
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