Canvass – archery team members

On Saturday, October 31, 2020, Detectives Armstrong and Murphy spoke to the members of the Yoknapatawpha High School archery team, which Frederick Miller helped coach.

The interviews summarized are some of the most typical or relevant to the investigation and are representative of all interviews conducted.

Bragg

Jimmy Bragg
Age: 16

Jimmy Bragg has been a member of the archery team for the last two years. Jimmy said Mr. Miller singled him out and picked on him. When asked why, he said Mr. Miller just had it out for him.

Jimmy mentioned that his mother told him that he wasn't being treated fairly on the team. When questioned about how he himself felt, Jimmy responded that his mom would know since she was at almost every practice and competition.

Jimmy added that he had missed opportunities because Mr. Miller had his favorites on the team. Jimmy said he didn't get as much competition time as the rest of the team despite his skill level.

Huddleston

Marc Huddleston
Age: 17

Marc Huddleston said this is his second year on the archery team. He said Mr. Miller had been an assistant coach for the last year but had been around the team ever since his daughter, Lizzie, made the squad.

Marc said he never had any problems with Mr. Miller and was treated well until he started dating Lizzie. Marc said Mr. Miller did not approve of the relationship and had made Lizzie break up with him.

Marc remarked that Mr. Miller had treated him a bit better since the split, but he still felt that Mr. Miller harbored some resentment towards him.

Marc said he was still angry that Mr. Miller made Lizzie break up with him. He emphasized that he didn't do anything wrong and only had the best of intentions with her.

Lyle

Keeli Lyle
Age: 17

Keeli said there had been friction between Marc Huddleston and Mr. Miller even after Marc had stopped dating Lizzie. She mentioned that Mr. Miller continued to treat Marc unfairly after the breakup. 

Keeli also noted the conflict between Jimmy Bragg and Mr. Miller. She said she didn't know the nature of their disagreement but did describe seeing an argument between Jimmy's mother and Mr. Miller after a practice sometime in the last several weeks. She said she didn't hear what it was about, but Mrs. Bragg ended it by storming off.

Vinson

Bailey Vinson
Age: 17

Bailey Vinson has been a member of the archery team for three years and said Mr. Miller was fair but strict with them as a team. Bailey never saw him lose his temper or yell at a student. Bailey reported that even when reprimanding students, he was stern and in control of his emotions.

She noted that his demeanor had changed in the last week, however. Bailey said Mr. Miller had snapped at a number of student archers, including herself, for not taking down their used targets fast enough at practice. Bailey recalled that she and her teammates were taken aback by Mr. Miller shouting at them as it had never happened before.

Bailey also said that in Mr. Miller's biology class, she heard Mr. Miller curse under his breath at Jason Rudd when Jason was late to class. She said she was shocked because she had never seen Mr. Miller use profanity like that in the classroom before.