Monday,
February 9 - 10:15 AM
The
witness was identified as best friend of Blake Jenson and the person
who called 911. Detectives Murphy and Armstrong interviewed him at
the Yoknapatawpha Sheriffs Department and recorded the interview on a
portable tape recorder with the witness's knowledge and consent.
Detective
Ted Armstrong
Detective
Sam Murphy
Kent
Erdell
Detective
Murphy: Thanks for meeting with us. Could you state your name and
address for the record?
Kent
Erdell: Sure, no problem. My name is Kent Erdell and I live at 500
Wedgewood Drive.
Detective Murphy:
Thank
you, Kent, for coming in today.
Kent Erdell: Yeah,
anything to help decipher all this.
Detective Murphy:
How
long had you known Blake Jenson?
Kent Erdell: Wow,
for
as long as I can remember. I know we went to daycare together and we
have been best buds since we were like four years old.
Detective Murphy:
Did
the two of you ever have disagreements?
Kent Erdell: Sure
we
have, but never anything serious.
Detective
Armstrong:
Humor us and give us an example if you don't mind.
Kent Erdell: Um,
ok.
Most of our "disagreements" were over girls. I liked Ginny
and Blake knew it but he just had to ask her out before I worked up
the courage to do it myself. So, yeah I was pretty mad when he did
that, but I got over it.
Detective Murphy:
What
is Ginny's last name?
Kent Erdell: Carr.
Ginny Carr.
Detective Murphy:
Were
they still dating the night Blake died?
Kent Erdell: Gosh
no.
He broke up with her a long time ago; he was pretty serious about
Madison. Madison Spires. She's the keyboard player and backup singer
for our band. Did you know we have a band? We're really good. I don’t
know what will happen to it now.
Detective
Armstrong: Was Madison there that night?
Kent Erdell:
Uh-huh,
and so was Ginny.
Detective Murphy:
Can
you tell us what happened that night?
Kent Erdell: Not
really, he was alive, the lights went out, and then he was dead.
Detective
Armstrong:
Tell us what happened right before the lights went out, Kent.
Kent Erdell: We
were in
the kitchen getting our food and then a bunch of us went back to the
rec room. I was still eating so I had my hot wings in one hand and my
drink in the other. Blake is lactose intolerant so he can't eat
pizza; I think he just had a few breadsticks. He was acting like his
breadstick was a microphone, it was hilarious. Anyway, he was getting
ready to have a face off with some dude named Stix and that’s
when the lights went out.
Detective Murphy:
Does
this "dude" have a real name?
Kent Erdell: I'm
sure
he does but I have no idea what it is. That night was the first time
I had even seen him. He had a chip on his shoulder and he was there
to steal Blake's title as "Guitar Hero Champion!" That
wasn't gonna happen. No way. Blake had that face off sewed up.
Detective
Armstrong: What exactly is a "face off?"
Kent Erdell: It's
when
two players choose a song and play at the same time to see who hits
the most correct notes. The one with the highest score wins. Stix
wanted it bad.
Detective Murphy:
Where was Stix when the lights came back on?
Kent Erdell: I
think he
was still in the same spot; he hadn't picked a guitar yet.
Detective
Armstrong: How about everybody else? Where were they?
Kent Erdell: I
don't
know. It was so confusing. We were coming back into the room and
then the lights went out. And then they went back on, and Blake was
on the floor. The only reason I know where Stix was is because he
said something stupid, "Looks like I'm the man to beat now, boys
and girls." Madison's screaming and I don't know if Blake is
trying to be funny or he slipped or what.
Detective Murphy:
When
did you call 911?
Kent Erdell: Blake
wasn't moving, and he wasn't breathing. Madison yelled at me to call
911, and I just did. It was utter chaos.
Detective
Armstrong: How often do these face offs take place?
Kent Erdell: Look,
I
really need to go or I'm going to be late for class. Can we finish
this another time?
Detective
Armstrong:
Sure.
Kent Erdell:
Thanks. Later.
Interview
ends: 10:42
AM |
