Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 9:28 a.m.
This witness, identified as the mother of the victim, was interviewed at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Office. The interview was conducted by Detective Sam Murphy and Detective Ted Armstrong, and was recorded on a portable video tape recorder with the witness's knowledge and consent.
TA= Detective T. Armstrong
SM= Detective S. Murphy
MB=Mary Bledsoe
SM:Please state your name and address.
MB:My name is Mary Bledsoe and I live at 17 Van Buren St. here in Oxford.
TA: We completed the search of your home, Mary.
MB:Thank goodness. I know it was necessary to catch my daughter's killer but it felt so...invasive.
TA: Can you guess why we asked you to come in today?
MB:Because you found a lead? That's what you call a clue, isn't it?
SM:We found some things that were very interesting. In the attic--
MB:Attic? I thought you were looking for clues. Amy was never in the attic. Why didn't you look in the garage?
SM:We did.
MB:Well?
SM:The tarp that you ex-husband purchased is gone. We found traces of blood, blood that we believe to be Amy's.
MB:So she was killed in the garage, not in the woods. The man must have wrapped her in the tarp and then carried her out the woods. My poor darling daughter....
TA: Why do you assume the killer is a man?
MB:A woman couldn't carry the body. We don't have the upper body strength.
SM:We're not sure that she was actually killed in the garage.
MB:But you just said you found the traces of blood.
SM:The blood was not pooled, dripped, or splattered. It was applied.
MB:You're going about this all wrong.
TA: How do you mean?
MB:I mean it's obvious -- it's been obvious from the beginning -- that some stranger came into the garage and killed my daughter. And that he took that that my husband had bought for some unknown reason and placed her dead body -- her dead body - in that and carried her out to the woods to be discovered by a some perfect stranger.
SM:That's an interesting theory.
MB:The clues were all there right in front of your eyes.
TA: And what about the attic?
MB:Who said anything about the attic? My daughter was not killed in the attic. Forget the attic. Some man came into my house and killed my daughter.
SM:We don't believe Amy was killed in the garage, Mrs. Bledsoe.
MB:You found blood, didn't you?
SM:We believe that someone offered to drive Amy to her interview. That this person stopped and convinced Amy to come into the woods with her. That this person killed Amy, collected some of her blood to create the false clue in the garage, and then arranged the body.
MB:I suppose that's possible. Any number of people may have offered my daughter a ride.
TA: And how many of them would have driven back to your house to paint the garage?
MB:I couldn't say.
SM:Do you know what we found in your attic?
MB:Christmas ornaments?
SM:Actually, we found a shrine to your daughter. It contained a photograph, personal items, makeup, and the knife that may have killed her. How many of the people who may have given a ride to Amy had access to your attic?
MB:I don't see where you're going with this.
TA: Where we're going with this? You're under arrest, Mrs. Bledsoe, for the murder of your daughter.
SM:You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to talk to a lawyer and have that attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you. Do you understand each of these rights I have explained to you?
MB:I do. But I don't understand what they have to do with me.
SM:Mary, did you kill your daughter?
MB:How could you ask such a question?
TA: The call you made to your house from the woods. What was that all about?
MB:That's actually kind of embarrassing.
SM:Why, what happened?
MB:At first, I had thought to do that so I could say I talked to my daughter before she was killed, proving that I was at my home at the time. But then I changed my plan and decided the killer should do what he did in the garage. Well, once I was in the woods, I forgot the change and still made the call from the cell phone. Once I made my mistake, you could have knocked me over with a feather. As soon as I arrived home, the first thing I did was erase that message.
SM:I imagine this whole thing was very stressful for you. Your daughter changing jobs. Looking for an apartment.
MB:It was more stressful for her. She just didn't know what she was doing anymore. My little girl was just.... They poisoned her. They did. But I saved her from them. And now I can rest. I'm so tired you know.
SM:I understand. Why don't we stop talking for now.
MB:I think I'd like that.
Interview ends: 10:06 a.m.
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