Thursday, September 2, 2021 – 1:30 p.m.
Chris Frost bought a house from Annette Wyatt, and witnesses said Ms. Frost’s follow-up communications with Ms. Wyatt after the sale were unwelcome.
Detectives Murphy and Parker interviewed her at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff’s Department.
Participants:
- Detective S. Murphy
- Detective E. Parker
- Chris Frost
Detective Murphy: Thanks for coming in. Would you please state your name and address for the record?
Chris Frost: I'm Chris Frost, and I live at 35 CR 401.
Detective Murphy: You can just speak in your normal voice.
Chris Frost: Sorry about that.
Detective Parker: Do you know why we asked you to talk with us?
Chris Frost: I imagine it has to do with that Annette Wyatt awfulness.
Detective Parker: And why do you think we would want to talk to you about that?
Chris Frost: Because she betrayed me.
Detective Murphy: How so?
Chris Frost: She acted as though she was my friend, but then after I did what she wanted, she pretended that our friendship had meant nothing. She stopped returning my calls, my emails, my texts. We were supposed to attend a show at The Lyric, but she never showed. I had pre-purchased the tickets. I wanted her to explain.
Detective Parker: What was it that Annette wanted you to do?
Chris Frost: Buy a house from her. I put her off as long as I could. We must have visited the property a dozen times, Annette spinning a wondrous tale about how she would help me decorate and repair all the little blemishes. How we'd get together to enjoy the sunroom I'd have after we opened up the two extra bedrooms. Everything Annette said, she lied.
Detective Parker: Sometimes salespeople can go too far to close a deal.
Chris Frost: I know all about sales. I sell high-end jewelry for a living. Annette's tactics were underhanded at best and possibly unethical.
Detective Parker: Seems as though plenty of people probably had reason to want her dead.
Chris Frost: Killing people is not a suitable method of dealing with bad customer service.
Detective Parker: Perhaps, but wouldn't it be satisfying?
Chris Frost: You interact with a different quality of people than the rest of us. Thank goodness.
Detective Murphy: You spent a lot of time trying to talk with Annette, trying to get close. Did you ever notice anything that seemed unusual?
Chris Frost: Such as?
Detective Murphy: Someone hanging around her. A strange car parked outside her house or office. Anyone that struck you as a threat, for whatever reason.
Chris Frost: If I thought Annette was in danger, I would have called the police.
Detective Parker: Even given how you felt about her?
Chris Frost: Violence never solved anything. I just wanted a chance to say my piece.
Detective Parker: You weren't glad to hear she'd been killed? Maybe even a little bit satisfied?
Chris Frost: Detective! I can't believe you would suggest such a thing.
Detective Parker: You can have murderous feelings without acting on them. Nothing wrong with that.
Chris Frost: I beg to differ.
Detective Murphy: Where were you that Saturday evening?
Chris Frost: After work, I went to the preseason pep rally, and then I went home.
Detective Murphy: You a big college football fan?
Chris Frost: Not particularly. I attend the games and football events because nowhere else can I find such a concentration of men. I figure someone has to notice me.
Detective Murphy: And did anybody?
Chris Frost: Not that evening, no. But the season is just about to start.
Detective Murphy: Did you see anybody at the pep rally that you know?
Chris Frost: I go to meet someone new.
Detective Murphy: Did you stay for the whole event?
Chris Frost: No, I left about 9:00 p.m. By that time, the men had been drinking for a while, and they’re no fun when they’re like that.
Detective Murphy: And what did you do after you left?
Chris Frost: I went home and puttered. I probably went to bed around 11:00 p.m.
Detective Murphy: And the next day? How did you spend your Sunday morning?
Chris Frost: Puttering. I spend a lot of time puttering.
Detective Parker: Can anybody confirm that?
Chris Frost: If I knew I needed an alibi, I would've bought a parrot.
Detective Murphy: If you remember seeing something that in retrospect seems suspicious, given what's happened, you'll let us know?
Chris Frost: Of course. I wouldn't want a dissatisfied customer gunning me down in the street. As I said, that's now how things should be resolved.
Detective Parker: And yet resolved they are. Annette Wyatt is no longer a thorn in your side or anybody else’s.
Chris Frost: I have never thought in those terms, and I don't mean to start now.
Detective Parker: But harassment's okay? From what we've heard, that describes your treatment of Ms. Wyatt—harassment. Annette could have called us. She was well within her rights if she decided to apply for a protective order against you. Say what you will, ethics aside, you're the one who broke the law, not Annette.
Chris Frost: I know what you're trying to do, and you're not going to succeed. I'm not going to confess just so you can close this case. I will not be railroaded into making a fake confession.
Detective Parker: I don't want you to confess to anything but the truth.
Chris Frost: The next time you want to talk to me, you can talk to my lawyer. This interview is over.
Interview ended – 1:54 p.m.
