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Tuesday, July 22, 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
SM: Mrs. Fine, thank you for coming in to speak with us today. I know it's difficult.
CF: I just want to help.
TA: We're grateful for that. For the record, could you state your full name and address?
CF: Cindy -- Cynthia Campbell Fine, we live at 596 Hathorn Road here in Oxford.
SM: Thank you. Now, Mrs. Fine, we understand you filed a missing persons report for your husband July 7. Was that the last time you saw him?
CF: Yes... actually, Thursday night. I never saw him after that.
TA: So that was July 3?
CF: Right.
SM: Can you tell us a little about that? About what happened?
CF: I'll try. It's just so hard right now.
SM: Take your time.
CF: Andy... Andy came home after work and wanted to party. It was the
holiday weekend and all that. We went out to Duffy's and stayed there for a
few hours. I -- well, I was never into partying as much as he is, and I wanted
to go home, I was tired. Carl was there
so I figured he
could give him
a ride. I -- never saw him after that. Oh gosh ...
I'm sorry. I get so emotional -- it's stupid.
SM: It's understandable, Mrs. Fine. Whenever you're ready.
CF: Well, after that -- when, um, when he -- didn't come home, I was a little worried, but I figured he might've gone to Carl's or something. They were both kind of drunk, so maybe Carl didn't want to drive too much.
SM: And Carl is?
CF: He's Andy's brother. Well, half-brother, but that doesn't matter to them.
SM: I see. Go ahead. You were saying? When your husband didn't come home that night?
CF: Anyway, the next day, I really started to get worried, but then I thought maybe he was making a run to Memphis or something and just forgot to tell me --
TA: Memphis?
CF: He sometimes goes there -- went there -- for work.
TA: What for?
CF: I don't know. He didn't really tell me much about his job.
TA: That's quite a trip.
CF: I guess so.
TA: How often would he go?
CF: Maybe twice a month, I guess. He didn't always tell me. He -- well, he had so much on his mind, sometimes he'd forget. He worked so hard. I just tried to make him happy when he got home -- forget his troubles.
TA: I see. So just to be clear, you were home all night July 3 when you left Duffy's?
CF: That's right.
TA: And then, on July 4, when he didn't show up, you figured he was in Memphis?
CF: I guess. Or with Carl, maybe, or -- well, Andy was sort of a free spirit, he came and went a lot.
TA: Without telling you?
CF: I guess -- I mean, he just sometimes needed to be on his own. Sometimes he stayed out at Aunt Minnie's. He didn't want to be burdened with me all the time.
TA: So then what made you file the report when you did -- Monday morning?
CF: Well, Andy's responsible -- I mean, he likes to party, but he never missed work, hardly ever. We only have the one car -- he would drop me off and then head out to Laughlin's. It's a few miles, so he wouldn't walk. Monday morning he wasn't home for work so -- well, I knew something was wrong. If only I knew... I'm sorry. Go ahead.
SM: You mentioned Aunt Minnie's -- where is that exactly?
CF: I -- it's so awful. It's that old house near where -- you know, where you ... where you found him. He and Carl and Antoinette inherited it. They were going to fix it up one of these days. He liked going there -- it was so peaceful, he could just relax without me bothering him all the time... I'm sorry... He's in a better place now, I just need to keep remembering that. He's with God. I need to accept that ... I need to be stronger.
SM: Take your time.
CF: No -- no. I'm ready.
SM: So the three of them own this house?
CF: Yes. Aunt Minnie didn't really have much in the way of family, no kids to call her own. So when she was sick, before she died, Grace really helped her out. That's Andy's mother. Carl and Antoinette were there for her practically every night, and Andy too -- he would tell jokes to try to cheer her up. He really did have a caring heart.
SM: When was this?
CF: Um -- back in 1985 or something. A long time ago. I guess they never really decided what to do with it. None of them wanted to live there back then because it's so far out of town, and the house got kind of run down over the years with no one living there. And now -- Antoinette's in Florida now, and I don't know -- Andy never said anything about Carl using it. Everyone's so busy, it just never came up. Now I -- well, it's too late... I'm sorry. I just need to get a hold of myself.
SM: That's okay.
CF: Go ahead.
SM: Okay. So over the July 4 weekend, did you stay at home the whole time?
CF: I went to see Robyn -- my sister. I was at her house on July 4. She was having a cook-out. I was trying to just relax and have a good time and not worry so much -- she always told me I worried too much about him. I -- well, I left after a couple of hours. It was just too hard to pretend to have fun when I didn't know where he was, and I didn't want to spoil it for everyone else. Robyn wanted me to stay, but I just decided to come home.
SM: And after that, did you stay at home the rest of the weekend?
CF: I don't remember exactly -- I'm sorry. I guess I must've run a couple of errands. And I went to church on Sunday, and there was a meeting -- I'm on the committee for the summer camp retreat. After that I -- I was definitely at home. I cleaned the house as usual. I wanted it to be perfect for when he came back.
SM: Mrs. Fine, when you came in to file that report, you looked a little beat up.
CF: Well, gosh -- I was tired. I mean, the whole weekend, I was worried. I tried to just have faith it would work out, but I guess I knew deep down something was wrong. I didn't really sleep much.
SM: Actually, I meant it looked like you'd been beaten up. You had a real shiner.
CF: Oh, well, I was cleaning under the sink and I just bumped my head,
I'm a real klutz like that. Andy was always making fun of me.
SM: I see. Mrs. Fine, this may be difficult to talk about, but are you sure everything was all right between you and your husband?
CF: Of course!
TA: He wasn't hitting you?
CF: No! Never. He would never do something like that. I -- I mean, he -- well, he -- he kind of came and went a lot, but that didn't mean anything was wrong. He needed his freedom -- he worked so hard, he deserved to not be burdened all the time. I just wanted to help him. That's what a wife's supposed to do -- help. I tried however I could -- I kept the apartment real nice -- as nice as it could be, anyway. We didn't have much money to spend on that stuff, but I kept it clean. I wanted to sew new curtains for the bedroom.
SM: Okay. How about Andy? Did he help you like you helped him?
CF: I -- I'm not sure what you mean.
SM: Did he go to church with you?
CF: Oh -- no. I mean -- sometimes, he would. For holidays, he would come along. But he was usually so tired out from work, he didn't want to get involved in committees. Sometimes we read from the Bible on our own -- in the evenings, sometimes.
SM: Did that bother you? That he didn't go to church with you regularly?
CF: Well -- yes -- I mean, I was worried for his salvation. It was my job to try to help him see that -- see it was important. I tried, I guess -- but everyone has to choose their own path, too -- choose their path and commit to it on their own. I didn't want to bother him too much -- and, well, he had to want to do it on his own. Choose his path and commit to it, and stick with it for better or worse.
TA: Is that what you did -- stick with your marriage for better or worse?
CF: I -- I don't feel comfortable answering that question. Marriage is sacred; I'm going to honor that. I mean -- I want to help, but there weren't any problems to discuss. I was glad to be married to Andy. He was my calling.
SM: All right then. Let's go back to the night y'all were at Duffy's. You mentioned Carl was there.
CF: Yes, that's right.
SM: Anyone else you knew?
CF: Yes -- it was the usual crowd. Eddie Dooley was there; he sat at our table for a while. We talked a little bit -- I don't know him very well, but he and Andy are friends. Oh, and Dudley Brinkman came over for a while.
SM: Did Andy know him?
CF: Not real well. No. I mean, we all went to school together, you know. I -- he just stopped by to say hello.
SM: Anyone else?
CF: Well, Andy and Carl were shooting pool -- they were betting. They played a bunch of people, but I didn't recognize any of them. Andy was really having a ball. Um, other than that, I just knew the bartender -- we were kind of regulars there.
SM: What time did you leave?
CF: A little after midnight, I guess. To be honest, I didn't notice. I was tired, really tired. I'm sorry.
TA: That's okay. I'm sure you're pretty tired now. Just a couple more questions.
CF: That's okay. I can keep going. I want to help.
TA: Mrs. Fine, is there anyone you know of who might have wanted to hurt Andy?
CF: No. No. I can't believe it.
TA: He didn't have any enemies?
CF: No. Andy -- he would never hurt anyone. He wouldn't hold a grudge
like that. He didn't hate anybody.
TA: All right. Thank you for everything, Mrs. Fine. You can go home and rest now.
CF: All right.
SM: If anything else comes to mind, just give us a call.
CF: Okay. I will. Thank you.
End interview - 10:41 a.m.
This document was edited for typographical errors on Thursday, August 14, 2003
at 12:30 AM
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