Alibi check – Caroline Miller #2
From approximately 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, Officers Maria Richards and Scott Vittel interviewed employees and patrons at Square Books.
In an April 13 interview with the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department, Caroline Miller revised her previous statement regarding her whereabouts on the evening of April 10.
In her new statement, Mrs. Miller said she dropped off her daughter at the skate park, then went to Square Books, and later went home, where she stayed until she went to pick up her daughter around 9:00 p.m.
Investigators interviewed Square Books store employees to determine whether they could corroborate Mrs. Miller's claim.
The interviews summarized are some of the most typical or relevant to the investigation and are representative of all interviews conducted.
Libby Bronson
Assistant Manager
Square Books
Ms. Bronson is one of the assistant managers at Square Books. Investigators first inquired whether the store had security cameras installed. Ms. Bronson said that the store has never had any type of video surveillance.
Ms. Bronson confirmed that on April 10, she worked from 4:00 p.m. until after 9:00 p.m., when the store closed. She said she typically was not scheduled for Thursdays but came in to work for another assistant manager who had called in sick.
When shown a photograph of Caroline Miller, Ms. Bronson said Mrs. Miller looked familiar, but Ms. Bronson could not say for sure that she had seen Mrs. Miller in the bookstore on Thursday, April 10.
Sarah Coates
Patron
Square Books
Ms. Coates works in the area and, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, carpools with her daughter, a student at Ole Miss.
On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, Ms. Coates goes into the bookstore at around 5:30 p.m. and waits for her daughter to pick her up at around 6:15 p.m. after her class ends.
When investigators showed Ms. Coates a photograph of Mrs. Miller, Ms. Coates remembered having a brief exchange with Mrs. Miller, who was looking at a recently released autobiography that Ms. Coates was also interested in.
Julian Janson
Café employee
Square Books
Mr. Janson was one of the employees working in the café on the evening of Thursday, April 10.
When shown a photograph of Mrs. Miller, Mr. Janson said he remembered serving Mrs. Miller that evening because she ordered a regular coffee and sat alone on the balcony. Mr. Janson said Mrs. Miller hardly touched the coffee, so he offered to get her a fresh cup or a different beverage, but Mrs. Miller declined.
Mr. Janson said Mrs. Miller was thumbing through two recently released books — a science fiction anthology and an autobiography — and asked Mr. Janson which of the two he thought would be more entertaining.
Mr. Janson estimated that Mrs. Miller left the café at around 6:30 p.m., just before he took his break.
