YOKNAPATAWPHA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT

 

Investigating Officer(s): Det. S. Murphy, Det. T. Armstrong

Case No: 001524-03D-2000

Case Description: Trudi Rose Death Investigation

The Cupid's Couples interns were interviewed in person by Detectives Murphy and Armstrong. The conversations are summarized below.

• Name: Marylee Clark
  Work Hours: Tuesday and Thursday mornings
  Comments: Ms. Clark stated that she has enjoyed her internship at Cupid's Couples and would recommend it to other UM students. She feels she has learned a lot and has found Cupid's Couples to be a pleasant work environment. She described her responsibilities as general clerical duties such as data entry, filing, making coffee, getting refreshments for guests, and so forth. Ms. Clark believes the workplace was stabilized by the strong relationship between the partners, Kelly Clinton and Trudi Rose. She indicated that, after they returned to work following Mrs. Rose's death, she was briefly unsure whether the business would remain open, but after a few weeks, office operations settled into a routine that seemed to work. She said Dana Pomeroy is very good at her job and seems to be doing pretty well in her efforts to help compensate for Mrs. Rose's absence. When asked about Corinna Morgan's dismissal, Ms. Clark stated she did not work the day of the incident and did not know the details of what happened. She said when she went in to work the following Tuesday, Ms. Clinton simply told her Ms. Morgan was no longer working there and did not tell her anything more about it.

• Name: Leanne Hammond
  Work Hours: Tuesday and Thursday afternoons
  Comments: Ms. Hammond stated that she has found her Cupid's Couples internship to be very beneficial and that she has already spoken to Ms. Clinton about coming back in the fall, either as an intern again or as a regular part-time employee. She described her responsibilities as administrative including processing data, greeting guests, preparing advertising mailings for distribution, and other similar activities. She indicated that, while the working environment was certainly different without Trudi Rose, she believes the business will continue to thrive with Kelly Clinton at the helm and with the help of Dana Pomeroy, who learned a lot from Mrs. Rose about matchmaking before her death. Ms. Hammond said she was not present when Corinna Morgan was fired, but had heard Ms. Morgan had been accused of stealing client files. She stated she did not know whether the accusation was true, but said she believed Ms. Morgan should have been fired if it was.

• Name: Bryan Thomas
  Work Hours: Wednesday and Friday mornings
  Comments: Mr. Thomas stated his Cupid's Couples internship has been educational. He described his responsibilities as basic office work like copying, filing and running errands. He said the people in the office got along most of the time, though he felt like Dana Pomeroy often delegated the work she didn't want to do to the interns. He said Ms. Pomeroy always seemed to be busy, even after she gave all the "boring jobs" to the interns, so he thought maybe she had taken on too much responsibility after Corinna Morgan left. Mr. Thomas stated he was at work when Ms. Morgan was fired and said he thought "the whole thing was weird" because he had been in the office the entire morning and never noticed Ms. Morgan or anyone else putting files in her briefcase. He indicated Trudi Rose and Kelly Clinton got along well with each other and with the other employees. He added that Mrs. Rose was especially nice to the interns and was always willing to be flexible about their hours when they needed to study for an exam or finish a paper.

• Name: Tamee Reynolds
  Work Hours: Wednesday and Friday afternoons
  Comments: Ms. Reynolds stated she has found her internship at Cupid's Couples very enriching and described the working environment as nurturing and conducive to personal growth. She said the interpersonal relationships in the office were harmonious most of the time with occasional clashes when peoples' psyches were temporarily in conflict. However, she indicated these disturbances were usually resolved quickly and unity restored. She stated that Trudi Rose's and Kelly Clinton's personalities meshed perfectly and the combination provided the foundation for the success of the business. She characterized Dana Pomeroy as the catalyst in the office, a role which seemed to suit her disposition most of the time. Ms. Reynolds stated she was present when Corinna Morgan was fired and said the incident created an aura of discord that lingered around the office for some time. She went on to emphasize that that could not compare to the feeling of incompleteness left by Mrs. Rose's death, which she predicted will not be truly healed for many months to come. Ms. Reynolds described her responsibilities as facilitating the harmonious flow of office activities. When asked why her fingerprints were found on both Mrs. Rose's and Ms. Clinton's coffee mugs, Ms. Reynolds stated she always washed all the coffee mugs, the coffee pot, and other utensils each Friday afternoon before leaving for the day. She indicated that was typically the only time she handled the mugs.