Thursday, November 1, 2007, 9:30 AM
Detective Armstrong and Detective Murphy of the Yoknapatawpha Sheriff’s Department interviewed the witness, who is the victim’s brother. The interview was conducted at the Yoknapatawpha Sheriff’s Department and recorded on a portable tape recorder with the witness’s knowledge and consent.
Det. Samantha Murphy
Det. Ted Armstrong
Raymond Jennings
Detective Armstrong: Please state your name and address before we begin.
Raymond Jennings: My name is Raymond Maurice Jennings. You can call me Ray. I live at off County Road 313, number 122.
Detective Armstrong: Thank you Ray. We are sorry about the recent death of your brother and we know how difficult this will be for you.
Detective Murphy: We need to ask you a few questions.
Raymond Jennings: Really, it’s no problem. Victor and I were not close; in fact, we didn’t like each other at all.
Detective Murphy: That’s too bad. Were the two of you violent with one another?
Raymond Jennings: Oh no, nothing like that. I just avoided him. I certainly didn’t hate him; I just didn’t feel anything where he was concerned. Victor was not a nice person.
Detective Armstrong: Did Victor have any enemies that you know of?
Raymond Jennings: Many. I believe the better question would be if he had any friends. My father and Carl were the only two people I know of who actually enjoyed Vic’s company.
Detective Armstrong: Carl?
Raymond Jennings: Oh, I apologize; his last name is Asher, Carl Asher. He and Vic have been friends since High School. My wife and I often joke that Carl is…I mean, was Victor’s "knee breaker."
Detective Murphy: You say your father was close to Victor, what about your mother?
Raymond Jennings: She didn’t bother with him. He broke her heart and let her down one time too many. She just gave up on him.
Detective Armstrong: What about his personal assistant, how did she get on with Victor?
Raymond Jennings: Lee? I honestly don’t know, I didn’t know her very well. She seems like a nice person.
Detective Murphy: When was the last time you spoke with your brother Raymond?
Raymond Jennings: The day he died.
Detective Murphy: Where did this conversation take place?
Raymond Jennings: Not in person, I had called him earlier in the day. Our father wanted Victor and I to come and visit him the next day. He was always trying to get us to come see him at the same time. He loved to see Vic berate me. He is dying and is too weak to get out. He might be losing his mind; he forgot that Victor was under house arrest. Anyway, I called Victor and asked him to at least give dad call.
Detective Armstrong: Did it bother you that your father felt this way about you?
Raymond Jennings: It did when I was young. I’m not a fighter like Victor. I am very passive and my dad takes that as weakness. He admires the way Vic will trample anyone to get what he wants.
Detective Murphy: How did Victor respond when you called him?
Raymond Jennings: Vic’s a jerk, detective. He told me to send my "sexy little wife" over with a piece of my birthday cake for him to devour. I hung up on him.
Detective Murphy: So that was the way your last conversation with your brother ended?
Raymond Jennings: No, he called me a couple hours later to tell me that he was going to kill himself. He then said "Happy Birthday wimp" and hung up on me.
Detective Armstrong: Why didn’t you call the police, he told you he was going to commit suicide and you did nothing? !
Raymond Jennings: I didn’t believe him. He had pulled this stunt before to get me to run over there so he could laugh in my face. I just thought he was trying to aggravate me. I wish now that I would have called 911, maybe he’d still be alive? I don’t know.
Detective Murphy: Okay, Raymond, thank you again for your time. If you think of anything else please let us know.
Raymond Jennings: I will. Good day.
Interview ends: 10:20 AM
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