From approximately 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, Officers Maria Richards and Scott Vittel interviewed employees and patrons at Square Books.
In an interview with the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department dated Sunday, November 1, 2020, Caroline Miller revised her previous statement regarding her whereabouts on the evening of October 29. 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.
Bronson
Libby Bronson
Assistant Manager
Square Books
Ms. Bronson is one of the assistant managers at Square Books. Investigators first inquired whether the store has security cameras installed. Ms. Bronson said that the store has never had any type of video surveillance.
Ms. Bronson confirmed that on October 29, 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 that Mrs. Miller looked familiar, but Ms. Bronson could not say for certain that she had seen Mrs. Miller in the bookstore on Thursday, October 29.
Coates
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.
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 also was interested in.
Janson
Julian Janson
Café employee
Square Books
Mr. Janson was one of the employees working in the café on the evening of Thursday, October 29.
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 books that had recently been released — 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.
