Saturday, July 8, 2006– 11 a.m.

This witness, who discovered the body, was interviewed in the ground floor conference room at the Starnes Athletic Center. The Reporting Officer, Officer Kennon Winters, conducted a preliminary interview. The Reporting Investigators, Det. Sam Murphy and Det. Ted Armstrong, conducted a formal interview when they arrived on the scene. This interview was recorded on a portable videotape recorder with the witness's knowledge and consent.

TA = Det. Ted Armstrong
SM = Det. Sam Murphy
MV = Mike Velasquez

SM: Thank you for coming in, Mr. Velasquez. Will you please state your name and address for the record?

MV: Sure. I’m Mike Velasquez and I live at 805 College Hill road.

TA: I understand you were the one who found the body?

MV: Well, I found something. I wouldn’t exactly call it a body, though.

SM: You were digging at the site. Is that correct?

MV: Yes, Ma’am.

SM: Will you tell us a bit about what you were doing and what you found?

MV: Yes, Ma’am. I was using the Crane 580 with the shovel. I was clearing the old concrete that we’d broken up, and the dry fill beneath it. We needed to clear that stuff out so we can put new rods to make the pillar bigger, replace the dry fill with something more solid than the gravel that’s there. You probably know there’s going to be a new level going up so the foundation and pillars have to be strong enough.

Anyway, I’d been digging a few minutes when I noticed something strange down in the hole. I didn’t know what it was ‘til the shovel brought it up. It was a bat. You know, a baseball bat. Damn! I couldn’t believe it. I thought what dumb s--- Oops, sorry ma’am--What dummy threw a bat down there? I got out of the cab andtook a look, and there was somethin’ else. Then I saw the skull. Geez. Like to scared the s—I mean the pants off me.

SM: Is it possible someone put it there recently, while you’ve been doing this new digging?

MV: No, Ma’am. We just broke up that concrete that had been laid on top. That thing—body,skeleton, whatever it was—that's been there since they first put the pillar in.Say, 98? Or before that even.

TA: Were you involved in the construction work that took place back then?

MV: No, I only started here last year.

TA: How do you know when those foundations and pillars were put in then?

MV: I think I just picked it up somewhere from the guys on site.

SM: Let's get back to today, after you found the body you called 911?

MV: First I yelled my head off and Donnie came running. Then we yakked and gawked for a while and then he called 911.

SM: That’s Donnie Nicholson? Your supervisor?

MV: Right.

TA: Then what did you do?

MV: Nothin’, man. We just stood around waiting for the cops to get there. It only took a few minutes. Man, was I glad to see them! It was creepy, you know?

TA: I’m sure it was. Did you see anything else besides the skull and the bat?

MV: Oh, yeah, man! Didn’t I tell you? There was some bones that looked like hands. They had somethin’ grungy around them. I couldn’t tell what it was. Tell the truth I didn’t want to look no closer. It was creepy enough. Once I called Donnie he said we shouldn’t touch nothin’ or move nothin’. Do you suppose that was some poor guy dumped there? I don’t even want to think about it. Sure shot the work day all to hell. Do you know how long they’re gonna keep us out of there?

TA: No, I sure don’t. They’ll let you know when you can go back in. It’ll be after they go over the site and surrounding area to see if the techs can determine what happened.

SM: Is there anything else you want to add, Mr. Velasquez? We really appreciate you talking to us again. I know you talked to the officers at the site earlier, but it helps us to hear it directly from you.

MV: No problem, Ma’am. Glad to help.

TA: Yes, thanks Mr. Velasquez. You have our cards if you think of anything else or want to get in touch with us.

MV: Yep, got ‘em. OK, bye then.

Interview ended 11:17 a.m.