Saturday, August 8, 2009

The witness, Cassie Foster, is maid at the Days Inn  and the person that discovered the finger. 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 Samantha Murphy
Detective Ted Armstrong
Cassie Foster

Detective Armstrong: Ms.Foster, we know you're very upset but please state your name and address.

Cassie Foster: It was horrible! The finger was all bloody.  I'm still shaking. Why would there be a finger in the room?

Detective Armstrong: Ms. Foster, please try to stay calm. Can you please tell us your name and address for our records?

Cassie Foster: Please call me Cassie. My name is Cassie Foster and I live at 950 Cleveland Avenue, in Oxford.

Detective Murphy: Cassie, now that you've had a chance to catch your breath and calm down, can you please tell us about your discovery.

Cassie Foster: I had returned from lunch around noon and got my cart out of the closet where it's kept. I had finished with room's one thirteen, fifteen, and sixteen before lunch. I pushed the cart in front of room one seventeen and knocked on the door. No one answered, so I used my passkey to unlock the door.  I called out in case Mr. Knight was in the bathroom and didn't hear me the first time. Mr. Knight is the man staying in the room one seventeen. No one answered so I proceeded to check the room to see what needed to be done.

Detective Murphy: Cassie, are you assigned the same rooms each day?

Cassie Foster: Yes, I have eight rooms starting with room one twelve and ending with room one nineteen.

Detective Murphy: How do you decide which rooms to clean first?

Cassie Foster: I start with the ones that don't have "Do Not disturb" signs on them.

Detective Murphy: What time of the day did you usually reach room one seventeen?

Cassie Foster:  In the afternoon. Although yesterday, the rooms weren't bad, and I got there in the morning. Mr. Knight wasn't happy about that.He said he likes to sleep in.

Cassie Foster: I did notice that the bed was made like no one slept there. It was unusual because yesterday the room was a mess. Mr. Knight wasn't very tidy. Not only was he messy he was very rude and flirty. He would tell me these crude jokes. I didn't like him very much. So I just did my job and mostly ignored him.

Detective Murphy: Cassie, think hard and tell us exactly what you saw?

Cassie Foster: I decided to vacuum the carpet and clean the bathroom so I went back out to my cart to get the vacuum and the cleaning supplies I needed. I plugged the vacuum in and turned it on. I was vacuuming near the bureau when I saw something on the floor. I bent down to get a closer look and what I saw was a shock. I looked closer and it scared the life out of me. It was a bloody human finger lying on the floor. The bathroom door was only opened a small way and I had a horrible thought what if the rest of the body was in there. So I took off running out of the room and ran to the office to tell my boss Mr. Silky to call the police.

Detective Murphy: You're doing good Cassie. Can we get you some water?

Cassie Foster: No thank you I just want to get this over with. Do you think this finger could belong to Mr. Knight?

Detective Armstrong: The finger could belong to anyone. We have no way of knowing any more at this point. Cassie, the rooms that you clean all have outside entrances. Did you see anyone or hear anything outside out of the ordinary?

Cassie Foster: No I didn't see anyone outside but I did see the man next door in room one eighteen peeking out his window. I'm sure he must have seen me run from the room.

Detective Armstrong: Do you know the name of the man in room one eighteen?

Cassie Foster: His last name is Myers. I don't know anything else about him. He hasn't been in the room when I've gone in to clean.

Detective Murphy: Cassie, you've been very helpful. We would appreciate it if you would keep silent about this matter until we’re able to determine the facts of this case. We spoke to your boss, Mr. Silky, and he said you can take some time off if you need to. He would like to see you before you leave. If you think of anything else please give us a call. You're free to go now.

Interview ends: 1:42 PM