On Monday, April 30, 2001, Sheriff's Officers Steve Harding and Kennon Winters interviewed the witnesses at the scene, including the groundskeepers assigned to Rowan Oak the day of the murder, and the Rowan Oak curator. They also spoke with the University's Physical Plant Office Manager, who placed the 911 call. These witnesses were questioned regarding any information they might have about the homicide of Achim Michaelis and/or circumstances leading to the homicide. The interviews summarized are those relevant to the investigation. NOTE: The Rowan Oak building known as "The Servants' Quarters" is also sometimes called "The Tenant House" or "Mammy Callie Barr's house."

• Shirley Capman, Physical Plant Office Manager. 1304 Elliott Drive, Oxford. Capman stated she was not present on the Rowan Oak grounds, but was at the main Physical Plant office on the University campus, which the employees refer to as "Base." Capman stated that the following employees were assigned to groundskeeping work at Rowan Oak on April 30, 2001 - Lorie Jones, Tate Moore, Scott Prein, and Cal Swinney. Capman stated that she contacted Tate Moore via radio at approximately 8:00 a.m. and asked him to come to the office to complete paperwork for employee insurance. She verified that Moore did present himself to do just that. He arrived at approximately 8:15 a.m. and was in the office for about one hour.
  
  Capman confirmed that she did place the call to 911 to report the incident, after Scott Prein contacted her via radio and told her of the discovery. Capman said she could hear Moore talking in the background over the radio while she was talking to Prein. When shown a picture of the victim, Capman said she did not recognize, nor did she know the victim.

• Lorie Jones, groundskeeper. 119 Chestnut Street , Oxford. Jones stated she arrived for work at approximately 6:55 a.m. and clocked in at the Physical Plant office. Jones stated she then went directly to building known as the Servants' Quarters to oversee renovation of cabinetry. At approximately 9:30 a.m. Jones requested assistance from co-workers Tate Moore and Scott Prein in loosening a door which had swollen shut and was jammed. The door apparently had water damage from a leaking pipe in wall. The three worked on the door until approximately 9:50 a.m., at which time Moore and Prein departed to their own areas of responsibility on the grounds.
  
  Jones stated that, shortly afterwards, she heard sirens and rushed out of the building toward the commotion. When she arrived she saw Prein and Moore as well as two Sheriff's Officers standing near the victim. Jones said that Prein and Moore appeared quite distressed. Jones further stated that one of the Sheriff's Officers prevented her from approaching the body or entering the immediate vicinity.
  
  When asked if she had witnessed anything unusual on the Rowan Oak grounds that day, Jones said she saw nothing at all. She said she did not see anyone other than Moore and Prein on the grounds. She did not recognize the victim and is sure she would have remembered him if she had ever met or seen him before.
  
  When asked if she saw Cal Swinney that morning, Jones replied that she saw him when they both clocked in that morning. She also recalled seeing him some time after she arrived at the crime scene, but she didn't know exactly when that was.

• Scott Prein, groundskeeper. 1756 Jefferson Avenue , Oxford. Prein stated he clocked in at approximately 7:00 a.m. and began work at approximately 7:15 a.m. He was scheduled to apply glazing compound to the windows in the upper floor bedrooms in the House and to assist Jones in the Servants' Quarters. Prein stated that, after working on the windows for a few hours, he went over to the Servants' Quarters to see how Jones was doing. When he arrived at the Servants' Quarters, he noted that there was a problem with the door and proceeded to assist Jones with unjamming it. Shortly, they realized they needed more assistance and called upon Moore to also help. The problem with the door was handled by approximately 9:50 a.m. at which point Prein left the area and returned to his work on the windows in the House.
  
  Prein stated that, while he was in the House, he heard Moore "screaming his head off" approximately five minutes after his departure from the Servants' Quarters. Alarmed that Moore might have injured himself, Prein left the building and ran in the direction of his screaming co-worker. When he arrived at the site, he saw the body of the victim and Moore extremely distressed. Jones said he cautioned Moore not to touch anything and radioed to base that there was an emergency and to contact 911.
  
  Prein stated that neither he nor Moore touched the body or anything else in the immediate vicinity. When asked if he noticed any thing or any one unusual in or around the area, Prein replied that he saw only his co-workers and that the grounds had been closed to the public that day. He said he did not recognize the victim and was certain he had never met nor seen him before.
  
  When asked if he had seen his co-worker Swinney around or near the victim, Prein said that he believed Swinney did arrive at the site after he, Moore and Jones had been there several minutes. When asked if he could explain why Swinney arrived later than the others, Prein replied that Swinney was working a good deal further from the scene than the three of them had been and he may not have heard the commotion at first. According to Prein, Swinney did not touch the body or anything in the immediate area.

• Cal Swinney, groundskeeper. 1614 Garfield Avenue , Oxford. Swinney reported for work at approximately 7:00 a.m. and proceeded to the area known as the Faulkner Rose Garden to begin work. Sometime between 7:45 - 8:00 a.m. he observed co-worker Lorie Jones drive a University-owned pickup truck, heading north toward outbuilding known as the Servants' Quarters, and park the truck at end of the driveway near the Servants' Quarters.
  
  At approximately the same time, Swinney observed co-worker Tate Moore come from the direction of the tool shed, carrying a pickaxe in his hands. Moore paused not far from Swinney, appearing to answer a call on walkie-talkie. Moore then stuck pickaxe into ground and headed north in the direction of the main office. At this point, Swinney moved in the direction of area known as the Original Garden to continue his hedge-clipping work. Swinney continued his work until approximately 10:15 a.m. when he heard sirens nearby and went to see what was happening.
  
  When Swinney arrived at the site, he observed two Sheriff's Officers and his three co-workers, Jones, Prein and Moore standing in the vicinity of the body. Swinney said his co-workers all appeared to be upset. Swinney said he was not admitted past the crime scene tape into the immediate area of the body. When asked if he saw anyone or anything unusual on the Rowan Oak grounds that morning, Swinney said he had noticed no one other than his co-workers, but he really wasn't paying much attention.
  
  When asked about the fresh cut observed on his left hand, Swinney explained he had cut himself on hedge clippers when startled by the sirens. Witness produced the hedge clippers and they were taken into evidence for analysis.

• Tobias Whitman, Rowan Oak Curator. 3063 Davis drive , Oxford. Whitman arrived for work at approximately 8:45 a.m. and stated he heard the sirens approaching Rowan Oak approximately one hour later. Whitman stated he looked through an upstairs window of the Rowan Oak house and saw Sheriff's Officers talking with two groundskeepers near a man lying on the ground. He went to their location to find out what was happening, but was not permitted past the crime scene tape.
  
  Whitman stated he did not recognize the victim, saying he was certain they'd never met. When asked if he had seen any one or anything in or around the grounds lately, he replied that he was not a security guard and wouldn't have had the slightest idea if anyone was out and about up to the devil's work or not. When asked his opinion of groundskeepers Swinney, Moore, Jones and Prein, Whitman replied that they were good, reliable, hard-working folk and "whatever they say I'm sure is the truth."
  
  Whitman was concerned about the negative press that Rowan Oak might get and asked if he could contact the newspaper and explain things to them himself. He was informed that the Sheriff's Department did not control the newspapers and he was free to contact anyone he liked.