On April 11, Detectives Murphy and Armstrong spoke to Frederick Miller's co-workers at Yoknapatawpha High School, where he taught biology and was the assistant coach of the archery team.
YHS faculty and staff were asked about Frederick Miller's standing as a teacher and other observations made by his fellow teachers.
The interviews summarized are some of the most typical or relevant to the investigation and are representative of all interviews conducted.
Langston Brown
Age: 55
Principal
Langston Brown has been the principal at Yoknapatawpha High School for the last ten years. He made the final decision to hire Frederick Miller based on his credentials and his firm stance as a teacher who follows the rules and makes sure that his students do the same.
Over the years, Mr. Brown gave Mr. Miller favorable reviews. However, he did describe Mr. Miller making numerous complaints about his fellow teachers as well as the archery coach Travis Lancaster, who Mr. Miller claimed wasn't fulfilling the duties of the role.
Mr. Brown said he had counseled Mr. Miller about the importance of supporting each other and told him he wouldn't be receptive to any more complaints unless they were of a crucial nature.
Miranda Durham
Age: 31
Physics teacher
Miranda Durham has been teaching physics at Yoknapatawpha High School for the last three years. In the previous year, she had gotten to know Mr. Miller a bit more through their conversations in the teachers' lounge, particularly their concern about the students' lack of respect, which seemed to be growing.
Ms. Durham knew of Mr. Miller's concern about cheating in his own class. She recalled how he said he had a sure-fire plan to catch someone. She didn't know who the student was or the specifics of the plan, but she said Mr. Miller had complete confidence that he would catch the culprit.
She was also aware of Mr. Miller's ongoing problems with students Jimmy Bragg and Marc Huddleston. She knew that Marc had been dating Mr. Miller's daughter, Lizzie, and Mr. Miller was not happy about it. She didn't know what Mr. Miller's issue was with Jimmy Bragg but remarked that Mr. Miller felt like Jimmy wasn't living up to his potential.
Steve Dutton
Age: 39
English teacher
Steve Dutton has been an English teacher at Yoknapatawpha High School for the last seven years and, by his own account, had numerous conflicts with Mr. Miller. All of these had to do with the curriculum Mr. Dutton was teaching, most notably books such as 1984, Animal Farm, and Fahrenheit 451. Mr. Miller had admonished Mr. Dutton for failing to also teach what he believed were the moral deficits in these books.
Mr. Dutton said Mr. Miller had made a formal complaint against him, but due to Mr. Dutton's good standing with the school, he was cleared of any wrongdoing and was able to stick to the curriculum he had created.
Jean Holbrook
Age: 25
Chemistry teacher
Jean Holbrook has taught at Yoknapatawpha High School for one year. She reported that Mr. Miller had made numerous remarks about how her clothing wasn't appropriate for the school dress code. After she consulted with Principal Brown, who said he saw nothing wrong with what she wore, Mr. Miller was warned to refrain from making such comments in the future.
Ms. Holbrook felt like Mr. Miller had less respect for her since she was younger and said he would often treat her more like a student than a fellow teacher. Overall, Ms. Holbrook didn't have a high opinion of Mr. Miller, describing him as out of touch and living in the past.
Kristina McCarthy
Age: 53
Art teacher
Kristina McCarthy has taught art for the last twenty years at Yoknapatawpha High School. She said she and Mr. Miller disagreed numerous times over the years. Ms. McCarthy corroborated what a few other teachers had said: that they did not have a high opinion of Mr. Miller. Ms. McCarthy mentioned that many of them called him "Fred-prick" behind his back.
She said Mr. Miller often poked his nose into other teachers' business. He would offer his opinions and guidance on things such as the furniture in the teachers' lounge, politics, how they park, and acceptable levels of facial hair on students and teachers alike, even when no one had asked for his thoughts on any of these subjects.
Ms. McCarthy felt that Mr. Miller had a holier-than-thou attitude, which rubbed many teachers and students the wrong way.
