On Friday, June 1, 2001 and Saturday, June 2, 2001, Detectives Sam Murphy and Ted Armstrong went to Home Plate to interview employees in search of any information about the current whereabouts of fellow Home Plate employee Donna Swinney. Swinney, who is married to Rowan Oak groundskeeper Cal Swinney, reportedly left town on Monday, April 30, 2001 - the same day Achim Michaelis was murdered. Additional reports indicate Donna Swinney may have been at Rowan Oak that day. The interviews summarized are those relevant to the investigation and are representative of all interviews conducted.

• Freddie Alvarez, waiter, Home Plate. 604 Saddle Creek Loop, Oxford. Alvarez said worked the night of Sunday, April 29, 2001 and he was present at the going-away party given for Donna Swinney after Home Plate closed. He stated he had heard rumors around the restaurant for approximately one week prior that Swinney was planning to leave her husband and Oxford, but that he only got confirmation of that information on the day of the party. Alvarez said the party began at approximately 11:30 p.m. after the last customers left and he remained at the party until approximately 1:00 a.m. Alvarez stated he was very close with Swinney at one time, when they had a brief sexual affair in October 2000. He said Swinney ended the affair after a few weeks, and he was adamant that the parting was amicable. Alvarez added that he and Swinney remained friends after their sexual relationship was terminated, as evidenced by his contribution to the Home Plate employees' purchase of diamond earrings for Swinney's birthday in November 2000. Alvarez stated he had not heard from Swinney since the night of the going-away party.

• Tom Bridges, night cook, Home Plate. 454 Sisk Avenue, Oxford. Bridges stated worked the night shift at Home Plate on Sunday, April 29, 2001 and that he was present at the going-away party for Donna Swinney held after hours that night. Bridges said he stayed at the party until approximately 12:15 a.m. at which time he left to meet his boyfriend, John Hanson. Bridges stated he and Swinney were friends, but were not close and he had not heard from her since he left the party. Bridges said he was aware that Swinney was not happy in her marriage, but was surprised that she would leave town without her son.

• Joe Hampton, day cook, Home Plate. 728 Shady Oaks Circle, Oxford. Hampton stated he worked the day shift at Home Plate on Sunday, April 29, 2001, but came back in to the restaurant at approximately 11:00 p.m. to attend the party for Donna Swinney. Hampton said he stayed at the party until approximately 1:30 a.m. at which time he walked Swinney to her car and then he went home. Hampton said that, while he usually worked the day shift and Swinney usually worked the night shift, he and Swinney had gotten to know each other when she picked up day shifts and had become friends during the time she had worked at Home Plate. Hampton stated that he and Swinney had a "one night stand" in February 2001, and had remained close friends afterwards. He said Swinney had confided in him that her husband did not appreciate her and she did not believe he loved her the way he should. Hampton said he had met Swinney's husband a few times outside of Home Plate and, while he thought Swinney might have overstated her husband's faults somewhat, he had no reason to think she was not being truthful about her feelings. Hampton said Swinney told him she was planning to leave her husband and get away from everything so she could decide what she should do and where she should go. Hampton said Swinney did not specify where she was going when she left Oxford because she believed it was better if no one knew so they could honestly tell her husband they did not know where she was. Hampton said he urged Swinney to tell someone - if not him, then another one of her other friends - where she was going so someone would know where she was, but Swinney refused. Hampton said he had not heard from Swinney since she left town.

• Millie Hodges, waitress, Home Plate. 203 Cotton Creek Drive, Oxford. Hodges stated she worked the night of Sunday, April 29, 2001 and attended the going-away party for Donna Swinney after hours. Hodges said the party was more of a gathering of Swinney's friends and was not a formal event. Hodges said Swinney's friends either stayed after their shifts were over or came to Home Plate just before closing time to have a few drinks with Swinney and to wish her well before she left town. Hodges stated the party was very upbeat and that Swinney's friends supported her decision to leave her husband, and, while many of them wished Swinney would not leave town, they understood why she felt she had to. Hodges said she and Swinney were good friends and that Swinney often confided in her. Hodges said Swinney had talked about how unhappy she was in her marriage almost from her first day at Home Plate. Hodges stated she had recently gotten out of a bad relationship herself and was very sympathetic to Swinney's plight. Hodges said Swinney often complained that her husband did not pay enough attention to her and that he deliberately kept a low-paying job to force her to work so the couple could afford everything they needed for their family. Hodges said she had never met Swinney's husband because he never came in to Home Plate while Hodges was there, but said she believed Swinney was accurately representing her relationship with her husband. Hodges said Swinney confided that she had begun looking outside her marriage for a relationship that would satisfy her. She said Swinney told her that she had met a few men on the Internet whom she had grown very close to and that Swinney thought one of those men might be her true soul mate. Hodges stated that she was aware that Swinney was planning to leave her husband, but had told no one because Swinney had asked her to keep it a secret. Hodges further stated that Swinney was planning to return to Oxford to get her son, but that Swinney did not say when that would happen. Hodges said she had not heard from Swinney since she left town and did not know where Swinney had gone.

• Tina Morgan, waitress, Home Plate. 3009 Davis Drive, Oxford. Morgan stated she worked the lunch shift on Sunday, April 29, 2001 and returned to Home Plate at approximately 8:30 p.m. to see the Kudzu Kings play. Morgan said she stayed after closing to attend the going-away party for Donna Swinney and left around midnight. Morgan said she and Swinney were not close, since they usually worked opposite shifts. Morgan stated she had heard rumors that Swinney had had intimate relationships with some of the male Home Plate employees, but said that it was gossip and she did not know anything for sure. Morgan said she felt sorry for Swinney's husband because of those rumors and because she often heard Swinney "bad-mouth" him when she occasionally worked a day shift with Morgan. Morgan said she believed Swinney might have been exaggerating her husband's faults to get sympathy from her co-workers. Morgan said she had also heard rumors that Swinney was going to leave her husband, but did not believe them until the night of the party because she assumed the rumors were the result of Swinney's melodramatics. Morgan said she had not realized Swinney left without her son, but was not surprised because she believed Swinney was "mostly interested in herself."

• Isabel Penner, bartender, Home Plate. 3728 Lyles Drive, Oxford. Penner stated she worked the night of Sunday, April 29, 2001 and stayed briefly for Donna Swinney's going-away party. Penner estimated she left before midnight because she needed to get home to her husband and two children. Penner said she and Swinney were friends, but there were some things they did not discuss. Penner said they usually talked about their children and the challenges of raising them. Penner said Swinney was concerned that her son might pick up her husband's misogynistic attitudes and often asked for advice on how to prevent that. Penner added that she was shocked to learn Swinney had left town without her son, given her concerns about him but said that, even though Swinney could sometimes be "blinded by her selfishness," she expected Swinney would return to get her son in the near future. Penner said she had heard rumors alleging Swinney had had affairs, and although Penner suspected the rumors were probably true, she and Swinney did not discuss them because Swinney knew that Penner disapproved of infidelity. Penner said she had not heard from Swinney since she left town and did not know where she had gone, but hoped she would hear from her soon.