| Tuesday, October 4, 2006 --12:42p.m.
The witness was identified as a friend of the victim's ex-girlfriend. She was interviewed by telephone by members of the Yoknapawtawpha County Sheriff's Department. The interview was recorded on a portable audio tape recorder with the witness's knowledge and consent.
SM= Det. Sam Murphy
TA= Det. Ted Armstrong
SC= Sarah O'Connell
SM: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. Can you hear us all right?
SC: Yes, the reception is fine.
SM: Can you please state your name and address?
SC: I am Sarah O'Connell and I live at 14213 Ledura Court, Glenview, Illinois.
SM: That's in the Chicago area, correct?
SC: Yes.
SM: When you attended Ole Miss, did you know Jamie Washington?
SC: Yes, he briefly dated a teammate of mine.
SM: And who was that?
SC: My teammate? Yvonne Bremer.
SM: So how well did you know Jamie?
SC: Not that well. We hung out some while he was dating Yvonne. But they didn't really last that long and I never spent any time with him except for when a big group of us was going out. So, I can't say I knew him very well.
SM: Okay, but what were your impressions of him?
SC: He was okay. He could be very funny. I didn't see much to get excited about him, you know? I mean, I wasn't bowled over by the guy. But at the same time, there wasn't much to dislike about him either. I just always thought of him as kind of vanilla.
SM: When did you first meet him?
SC: Oh, I don't remember exactly. It was pretty early in their relationship. Maybe even the second or third date. There was a party out in College Hill and Yvonne brought him along.
SM: How much did you know about his involvement with the football team?
SC: I knew he played, and I knew about his run-ins with Coach Tunney. That was pretty much common knowledge. And I used to bump into some of the team at the Turner Center and I had heard that he had kind of been ostracized.
SM: Did Yvonne ever tell you anything about Jamie's money? Did she mention him having any problems?
SC: No, in fact, I always assumed he was pretty comfortable. He certainly spent a lot of money on Yvonne.
SM: When did Yvonne and Jamie break up?
SC: It was late winter, early spring. Like maybe March or early April.
TA: Why'd they break up?
SC: Who knows? I think it was a bunch of things. I mean, Hugh was always in the picture with Yvonne. You couldn't even talk about one of them without mentioning the other. He was just always there. So I can't say that I was surprised when Jamie and Yvonne quit seeing each other. The guy didn't stand a chance against Hugh.
SM: So it was Hugh and not anything bad between Yvonne and Jamie?
SC: I think she felt a little bit smothered by Jamie. He got so attached so quickly. I guess she figured if she was going to be smothered, might as well go back to Hugh.
SM: Okay, let's talk about something else. Tell us about the fencing team at Ole Miss.
SC: Well, it's a club sport there so there's not much financial support. But it was fun. We worked hard and made some good friends.
SM: There was a pretty strong bond between some of the girls because you're so unusual?
SC: There aren't many girls fencing on Sorority Row.
SM: What was your level of commitment?
SC: I enjoyed it, but I wasn't fanatical about the sport. I guess I was like Yvonne. We both tried hard, but it was just a hobby for us. We certainly weren't as serious as some of the other girls.
SM: Like who?
SC: Tina Paige was the most fervent athlete. She was crazy-dedicated.
SM: Did Jamie ever come to any events?
SC: I think he came to a couple, but not many.
SM: We've been told about a bar fight between Jamie and Tina Paige where she ended up pouring her drink on him. Where you there that night?
SC: Yes, I was.
SM: Tell us about it.
SC: There's really not much to tell. Jamie was kind of mouthing off and Tina was Tina. Simple as that. She was very dedicated and always ready to argue about how unfair the treatment of female athletes was at the school. And plus, almost everyone was drunk. So Jamie started bragging about the treatment of the football team. He did it like he was complaining, but it was still bragging. It was like listening to rock stars complain about how much pressure they're under or how hard it is to not be able to go to dinner or something without being recognized. And Tina was always ready to pounce on that sort of thing. So she did. She got pissed and next thing you know, Jamie's dripping wet.
TA: Were you involved? Did you get mad at all?
SC: I was kind of in the middle. I thought Jamie was being a little obnoxious, but I didn't think that much about it. Like I said, he was kind of a vanilla guy so even when I say he was being obnoxious, it wasn't that bad. And Tina was too militant about the whole thing. I guess I wouldn't be able to pick sides in this fight. They were both wrong.
TA: So you weren't still angry with Jamie after that incident?
SC: Of course not. I wasn't terribly angry with him that night. I agreed with most of what Tina believed in. Female athletes do get treated horribly compared to the men's football team. Tina and I used to sit around and complain about it, but I was ready to let it go. Tina would just get so venomous and upset. I didn't have that much energy to devote to carrying a grudge. So although I could see where she was coming from, I didn't really get mad at Jamie that night. And I certainly didn't think he deserved Tina's treatment.
SM: When was the last time you saw Jamie?
SC: I don't really remember. I think I passed him at the Union one day. We didn't really talk, just waved to each other.
SM: Do you have any idea of why Jamie might have vacated his apartment?
SC: None.
SM: Do you know who might have wanted to hurt him?
SC: No.
TA: Did you hear anything from friends about what might have happened to Jamie?
SC: No, not really. Once he and Yvonne quit seeing each other, there really wasn't much way for me to hear about him or anything. We didn't have many common friends. I heard that he had left school or something, but that was about it.
SM: Did you attend the Red-Blue Game or the Double Decker Festival in 2002?
SC: No, I was out of town. I went to New Orleans that weekend to visit Tulane.
TA: Do you know if Yvonne had any contact with Jamie around that time?
SC: She briefly mentioned that he had e-mailed her, or maybe called her. I don't really remember because there wasn't much to it. I remember that. She either didn't return his call or didn't respond to the e-mail or something. So I never thought much about it.
SM: How well do you know Hugh Faber?
SC: I don't know him very well at all. I mean, I've heard all about him from Yvonne. But they didn't really associate with us. So I've not personally talked to him very much.
TA: When they started dating again, they didn't go out with you guys?
SC: No, Hugh didn't like doing anything in groups. He just wanted to be alone with Yvonne. So we never went out together.
SM: What's your opinion of Hugh?
SC: Honestly, I think he's a jerk. Possibly even a dangerous jerk. I tried to get her not to go back to him, but it was a lost cause.
TA: Why do you feel that way?
SC: He's just an asshole. He's very possessive of her, very protective, and very controlling. He doesn't like anyone else and no one likes him. I used to think that he was so possessive of Yvonne because she was the only woman in the world that would put up with him. He's just a caveman.
SM: Did he and Jamie have much to do with each other?
SC: Absolutely not. Yvonne said you weren't even allowed to mention Jamie's name around him. I mean, if I'm with my boyfriend, I'm not going to rub some other guy is his face. I'm not going to constantly mention Eric every five minutes if I'm now dating Rob. But at the same time, if I'm telling a story about something I did with Eric, I have to mention his name. Yvonne couldn't do that. She would tell this big long story about going to dinner and seeing a movie or something and if you didn't know what was really going on, you'd think she had sat there by herself all night. But if you knew Hugh, then you knew that she had been with Jamie but was having to omit him from the story.
TA: So I take it you don't really like Hugh much?
SC: Not at all. I was really close to Yvonne and wanted to support her in anyway that I could. But Hugh's just an animal.
SM: Okay, thank you for your time.
Interview ends 1:26 p.m.
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