Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - 8:00 AM
The witness, Jimmy Barton, is the son of Elizabeth Barton. 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
Jimmy Barton
Detective Armstrong: For the record, what is your name and
address?
Jimmy Barton. My name is Jimmy Barton, and I live at 1710
Anderson Road, at
the Lafayette Place Apartments.
Detective Armstrong: Here in Oxford?
Jimmy Barton: Yes, right here. Never lived anywhere else.
Detective Armstrong: All right, now that we have that out of
the way, what
can you tell us about Oscar Knight?
Jimmy Barton: Nothing. I wish I could help but I didn't know
the man.
Detective Armstrong: Is it true you attended the Marshall
family reunion at
the Wall Doxey State Park, this year?
Jimmy Barton: Yes, I sure did. I go every year; from as far
back as I can
remember. Mother and the Marshall’s are close friends.
Detective Murphy: What is the name of your mother?
Jimmy Barton: Her name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth Barton.
Detective Armstrong: Did you or did you not meet Oscar Knight
at the
reunion?
Jimmy Barton: No. I wasn't
introduced
to him, but I did see him and hear all the buzz about him being a jerk.
I
didn't really speak with him, so I know nothing concerning him.
Detective Armstrong: Did your mother know Mr. Knight?
Jimmy Barton: Yes, she did, but I didn't. As a matter of fact,
I never even
heard his name until that day at the reunion.
Detective Murphy: What did you hear about him?
Jimmy Barton: Only that he was a rotten excuse for a man. No
one liked him,
it seems. He must have had a very nasty disposition. I never heard one
good
word about him. That's pretty bad, wouldn't you agree?
Detective Murphy: Yes, I would agree if it were true. Who told
you that Mr.
Knight was a rotten excuse for a man?
Jimmy Barton: Mother, for one. And Steve. And Pauline. And
Albert, just to
mention a few. They couldn't all be wrong.
Detective Armstrong: What did your mother tell you about her
confrontation
with Mr. Knight?
Jimmy Barton: I wouldn't call it a confrontation. Just him
being a real
jerk. Mother didn't do anything.
Detective Armstrong: What did Mr. Knight say?
Jimmy Barton: I don't think it was so much what he said as how
he behaved.
Detective Armstrong: Tell us about that.
Jimmy Barton: Mother said that Ozzie ... that's what she
called him ...
smelled of alcohol and was just being obnoxious. She said he said
something
about her looking old. Believe me, that isn't something anyone should
say to my
mother. She prides herself on the fact that she doesn't look her age,
so when
he said that she got riled up a little.
Detective Murphy: Is that what caused the fight?
Jimmy Barton: Fight? There was no fight. Are you
kidding? I admit
Mother is a little vain, but she isn't stupid. She just tried to walk
away and
Ozzie wouldn't leave it alone.
Detective Armstrong: What happened when she walked away?
Jimmy Barton: Nothing. She kept walking; he kept talking. I
think someone
else got his attention and she got away from him.
Detective Armstrong: So, Mr. Knight was drunk?
Jimmy Barton: I don't know if he was or not, but he reeked,
according to
what Mother said.
Detective Armstrong: How did your mother know Mr. Knight? Did
she tell you?
Jimmy Barton: Sure. They were in the same grade in school. She
said she
thought he was a nice guy back then, but she saw through him one day
and just
stayed away from him after that.
Detective Armstrong: When did you learn all this, Jimmy?
Jimmy Barton: I hadn't heard any of this until later in the
day. Mother left
the reunion early, so I stopped by to see if she was sick. She usually
stayed
much longer at the reunions. And, I heard a little bit about Ozzie
insulting
just about everyone that day, so I thought I'd see if she was okay.
Detective Armstrong: And was she?
Jimmy Barton: Oh, sure. She just decided she wouldn't feel
comfortable at
the park any longer with Ozzie running around being such a creep. She
said she
sure hoped he wouldn't be back next year. We both just laughed a little
about
it, and then we sat down and had a big piece of her double chocolate
cake.
That's one of her specialties.
Detective Murphy: I bought one of those at the church sale one
time. It was
delicious. I'd like a big piece right now. Did you talk to Pauline
Jones that
day?
Jimmy Barton: Yes, she had a little run-in with Ozzie, too. I
think quite a
few people at the reunion had a problem with him. I'm glad I wasn't
around him.
Steve told me that he never did like Ozzie, but he didn't want to go so
far as
to ask him to leave. He said that would probably just make matters
worse.
Detective Armstrong: Where were you? Do you mean you had
already left the
park?
Jimmy Barton: Oh no, I don't mean I wasn't at the park. I had
walked over to
the pond with Todd and Steve to do some fishing.
Detective Armstrong: Who are Todd and Steve?
Jimmy Barton: Todd is a good friend of mine and he's Steve's
son. Steve
Marshall sets up the reunion every year. Does a real good job, too.
Detective Murphy: All right, let’s move on to Pauline. What
did she tell
you?
Jimmy Barton: Basically, the same thing I heard from everyone
else. Ozzie
was a jerk; didn't smell good, and seemed to be on a mission.
Detective Murphy: A mission?
Jimmy Barton: Yes. I guess it was a mission to cause trouble
because that's
exactly what he did. Do you need anything else? I really need to
get to
work.
Detective Armstrong: We're almost finished. Do you know of
anyone who would
want Mr. Knight dead?
Jimmy Barton: Probably anyone who knew him from what I hear.
But if you mean
do I know anyone personally who actually said they'd like to kill him
... no.
Detective Armstrong: Okay, you can go. If we need to
talk to you
again, we'll contact you.
Jimmy Barton: Sure thing. Good luck.
Interview ended: 8:43 AM |
