Tuesday, July 25, 2006 4:15p.m.

The witness was identified as the victim's mother. She was interviewed at the Yoknapatawpha 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
LW= Lorena Washington

SM: Thank you for driving all this way. I'm sure this is very difficult for you. You have my deepest sympathies.

LW: Thank you. It's just hard to accept the fact that it's really over. For a long time, I thought I would be able to deal with this... just to know and finally have closure. Now, I wish I didn't.

TA: I'm sure it's very difficult either way, Ms. Washington.

SM: Just for the record, could you please state your name and address?

LW: Lorena Washington. I live outside Jackson. In Moss Point. 1962 Elm Street.

SM: And for the record, what was your relationship to the victim?

LW: I was his mother.

SM: Sorry. We have to ask that question just for the record.

LW: I understand.

SM: I know that a lot of time has passed, but we still need to ask you some questions. I hope you can try to remember as many details as possible. In June of 2002, you filed a missing persons report for your son. Why?

LW: Because I hadn't heard from him and no one knew where he was. Pretty simple, really.

TA: How long had it been since you had talked to your son? Prior to filing the report?

LW: I think it had been over six weeks.

TA: How long did you two normally go in between contact?

LW: It was usually something closer to three or four weeks. By the time it got to be about five weeks and I hadn't heard from him, I started trying to find him. By six weeks, I knew something was wrong.

SM: Why didn't you two talk more often than every three weeks? That's a fairly long period of time.

LW: Jamie and I had some difficulties. I can't lie about that. We disagreed and we carried grudges. Stupid, really. I guess you probably talk to a lot of people who wish they hadn't let silly stuff keep them apart.

SM: Yes, I guess we see our share of that.

LW: I always loved my son, but we did argue. And sometimes it would be a couple of weeks before one of us would pick up the phone.

SM: What did you disagree about?

LW: A lot of different stuff. Jamie's a lot like his father. Very opinionated and headstrong and I guess I am as well. So we butted heads a lot. It all seems so silly now, but I worried about the future I wanted him to have a good life. All mothers do, I guess. I just wanted what was best for him, and we disagreed about what that was, sometimes.

TA: Where is his father?

LW: I don't even know. I left Lyle before he was born. Lyle worked the night shift at a factory and one night he left work and I packed up and was gone by the time he got home. Lyle drank a lot and got abusive and I didn't want to raise a child with him. Jamie wasn't old enough to understand any of that maybe he blamed me for not letting him have a daddy. He's always resented me for doing what I thought was the right thing.

SM: So your last contact with Jamie was over the phone?

LW: Yes. He called basically just to check in. We talked for a few minutes and that was it. Nothing unusual at the time.

TA: Was that how you usually communicated with Jamie? The phone?

LW: Yes.

SM: Ever send e-mails or anything like that?

LW: No, I don't know much about computers.

SM: How did Jamie end up at Ole Miss?

LW: Football and a scholarship. Simple as that. Jamie was a good ball player and the coach came down here and recruited him. I wanted him to go to college, and it was the only way to pay for it I was glad in a way.

SM: Were you aware that Jamie had lost the scholarship?

LW: Yes, he mentioned that once.

TA: How did you feel about that?

LW: Honestly, I came to be more proud of him. I didn't even know he had lost his scholarship until he told me, he never asked me for anything. He went out and got himself a job and supported himself. Showed determination.

SM: I can imagine you might have even been glad that he wasn't playing anymore. Football's such a rough sport, it's gotta be tough on players' mothers.

LW: Well, I could take football or leave it. It was certainly good for Jamie... got him into college, that's for sure. I think we all knew that he would never be a professional ball player after his injury so he probably wasn't as crazy about it as some of his teammates. I was the same way. I was glad when he played and did well, but I was also glad he didn't have to fool with it any more. Hoping to be drafted in the pros didn't seem like a life plan. I was glad when he dropped the idea and began thinking about the future in a realistic way. We actually were beginning to agree about that. ... I'm sorry, I just can't believe he's really gone.

SM: That's all right, Mrs. Washington. Do you want to take a break?

LW: No, that's all right. ... I'm all right.

SM: Okay, then. How much did you know about Jamie's life here in Oxford?

LW: Not very much. He never really told me much about that.

SM: Was he dating anyone?

LW: I don't know.

SM: How about friends?

LW: He never mentioned many specifics. It was always "me and a teammate" or "some of the guys." He rarely mentioned names. I know he hung out with a Christian athlete group of some sort or another. I got to know of Chris Zimmer because he was the boy who called me about Jamie.

TA: Who's Chris Zimmer?

LW: He's the one that called me I wouldn't have known him otherwise. He said he wanted to know if Jamie was around, if he'd come back home for the summer. I said no, and he said he hadn't seen him around campus and was just wondering. He said it was no big deal, but basically that's when I began worrying about him seriously and a couple of days later I made the report.

SM: What was Jamie studying in school?

LW: Business of some sort. I don't know the specifics or if it was just general business. God, I must sound like a horrible mother... I knew so little about my son's life. I really did love him, it's just that...

SM: That's okay, Ms. Washington. I understand. Take as long as you want.

LW: It's just that he never seemed to want to communicate or anything. I don't know what I should've done.

SM: Did Jamie ever mention being in trouble? Or being scared of anything?

LW: No, he didn't.

TA: Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt your son, Ms. Washington?

LW: No! I don't even know if he had a girlfriend... how would I know if someone wanted to... oh my god, I can't believe he's dead.

SM: I think that will do it for now, Ms. Washington. We'll have someone take you back to the hotel. I'm sorry to put you through this.

Interview ends 5:30p.m.