Detective Armstrong and Detective Murphy of the Yoknapatawpha Sheriff's Department interviewed the witness, who is the neighbor of the victim. The interview was conducted at the Yoknapatawpha Sheriff's Department and recorded on a portable tape recorder with the witness’s knowledge and consent.

Detective Ted Armstrong
Detective Samantha Murphy
Anna Raymond

Detective Murphy: Good morning Mrs. Raymond. We appreciate your coming in to talk with us. We'll try not to take up much of your day.

Anna Raymond: I'm more than glad to be here if I can be of any help. I loved that boy and I’m going to miss him very much. Please call me Anna, I’ll feel more comfortable if you do.

Detective Murphy: Of course, Anna. We’re sorry for your loss. We need your name and address for our record.

Anna Raymond: My name is Anna Lee Raymond and I live at 1197 Mimosa Drive, Oxford. It's such a tragedy Blake dying. We’ve known Luther and Agnes Jenson for a long time and you couldn't ask for better neighbors.

Detective Armstrong: Tell us about Blake.

Anna Raymond: Blake was a sweet boy and had lots of friends. His grandparents raised him. His mother was young when Blake was born and she gave her parents custody at his birth. They haven’t seen her since. Blake was Luther and Agnes's pride and joy. I don’t know how they're going to cope with this. They loved that boy very much. They bragged about him to everyone, how responsible he was and musically talented. George and I would drop in sometime when he and his band were rehearsing. Young people were always coming in and out of there. Blake had lots of friends and had parties quite often.

Detective Armstrong: Anna, if Blake was such a good, responsible kid why did you call the police on him several times?

Anna Raymond: Those were times when Blake played his music too loud. It was late and George had called and asked him to turn it down but that would only last for a few minutes and then someone would crank the music up. I guess we're just old and grouchy but George had to work. Over all, Blake was a good boy. I don’t think he ever got mad at us. I think his only fault was playing loud music.

Detective Armstrong: Did you see Blake on February 8, the day he died?

Anna Raymond: Blake called and spoke to me that morning. He was having a party that night. He told me he would try and keep the music down. He said a young man was coming to challenge him at the video game "Guitar Hero." He loved video games, especially "Guitar Hero." I guess most young people do, but Blake bragged about this game constantly. He certainly let it be known he was the champion.

Detective Armstrong: Anna, can you tell us what you saw on February 8, the night Blake died?

Anna Raymond: I left the house around 7 PM to take Trouble for a walk. Trouble is my little Yorkshire terrier. We usually take our walk around the same time every day. We go around the block once or twice. Trouble gets tired so we don’t go long distances. I noticed there were several young people at Blake's. On my second lap around I saw a young man come out of the house. He looked angry. He went to his car and got out what looked like a bottle of whiskey and drank some of it. He finished a cigarette that he was smoking and threw it on the ground. He gave me a dirty look as I passed by and he called me an old, nosey bitch. He was definitely angry about something. I just ignored him and kept walking toward my house.

Detective Murphy: Did you recognize him?

Anna Raymond: No, I don't remember seeing him at Blake's any other time.

Detective Armstrong: Did anything else out of the ordinary happen that night?

Anna Raymond: I was headed toward my house when I noticed all the lights went out at Blake's. I thought it was odd because our lights were on but I wasn't concerned. I figured someone at the party was playing with the light switches turning them off. I stood outside the door to my house a few minutes and the lights came back on. So Trouble and I went into the house.

Detective Armstrong: What happened next, Anna?

Anna Raymond: Inside the house I took the collar and leash off Trouble. I took off my shoes and sat down in my recliner to rest. George was watching TV. The next thing I heard was a siren screeching up our street. George and I jumped to our feet and saw the police pull into Blake's. We thought maybe a neighbor had called the police because of the loud music. George had the TV up in the house so we couldn't hear the music.

Detective Murphy: When did you find out about Blake's death?

Anna Raymond: George and I went to bed around 9. It had been a long day so we retired early. Around midnight the doorbell rang. George got up to answer the door. We wondered why someone was at our door at midnight. When George answered the door it was the police. I got out of bed and slipped on my housecoat. They asked us to have a seat; I was terrified it was something wrong with one of my boys. They told us they found Blake lying on the floor dead. It was such a shock I must have blacked out for a few minutes. When I woke George was sitting beside me on the sofa with my head in his lap. The police asked if we had contact information on Blake's grandparents. We gave them the information but asked if we could contact them and give them the bad news. They agreed since we've been friends with Luther and Agnes for a long time.

Detective Murphy: Anna, did you speak with the Jensons that night?

Anna Raymond: Yes we contacted them right away. I knew they would want to make arrangements to come home. It was horrible having to relay such a message. George promised to take care of things here till they arrived. After we hung up the phone George and I held each other and cried.

Detective Murphy: Thanks Anna for coming to see us. I know this has been difficult for you. If you can think of anything else that may help us please call. You can go now.

Interview ends: 1:25 PM