Caroline Miller interview #3

Thursday, November 5, 2020 – 1:30 p.m.

Caroline Miller is the victim's wife.

Detectives Armstrong and Murphy re-interviewed her at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Caroline Miller

Detective Armstrong: Good afternoon, Caroline. Please state your name and address for the record.

Caroline Miller: Caroline Miller. 244 Sisk Avenue. Will this take long?

Detective Armstrong: It shouldn't. There are a few details we need to clear up.

Caroline Miller: Is that what you told Marc before you arrested him?

Detective Armstrong: Marc hasn't been charged. At least not yet.

Caroline Miller: You've made a terrible mistake. Marc didn't kill Frederick.

Detective Murphy: Do you know who did?

Caroline Miller: No, of course not, but I do know that Marc didn't.

Detective Murphy: Were you with Marc at the time your husband was murdered?

Caroline Miller: No. I was at home.

Detective Murphy: Then how can you be sure?

Caroline Miller: He didn't do it, Detective. He's not capable.

Detective Armstrong: Do you see our dilemma, Caroline? We have evidence indicating that he did do it, and we're having trouble verifying his alibi as well as yours and Lizzie's.

Caroline Miller: Lizzie and Marc were together at the skate park.

Detective Armstrong: Yes, and you were at home. Unfortunately, without any corroboration, it's the same as having no alibi at all. Especially since your first alleged alibi was a lie.

Caroline Miller: Marc couldn't have done this.

Detective Murphy: Why?

Caroline Miller: It's not in him to do something like this.

Detective Murphy: He's a bowhunter. He kills for sport. How can you be so sure?

Caroline Miller: There is no possible way Marc could kill a person.

Detective Armstrong: Do you know anyone who could? Maybe another bowhunter who kills for sport? Were you seeing someone behind your husband's back?

Caroline Miller: No! Oh, my God, what are you saying?

Detective Murphy: What is your relationship with Lyle Nelson?

Caroline Miller: There isn't— no, no, no. Not with Lyle. Not anyone! How can you even suggest that I was having an affair?

Detective Armstrong: Well, Caroline, we aren't the ones suggesting it. We're just trying to get to the bottom of what we've heard.

Caroline Miller: Oh, God. Oh, my God. Is that really what people think? That I was unfaithful? Oh, Frederick, I'm so, so sorry. No, Detective, I've never had an affair. As lonely as I was in my marriage, I was faithful to my husband. And I loved him.

Detective Armstrong: If you're telling the truth—and you can understand why we'd be skeptical given your history of lying to us—why would anyone tell us that you were cheating on Frederick?

Caroline Miller: You can't expect me to explain why other people do the things they do. Maybe they don't like me. Maybe they didn't like my husband. Maybe they're just bored and making up gossip. I don't know.

Detective Murphy: Did your husband ever tell you he had any suspicions about a student cheating in his class?

Caroline Miller: He didn't mention anything specific, but he's always grumbled about the students making lucky guesses on his tests. It bothered him that the students didn't study harder, but that's been ever since he first started teaching.

Detective Armstrong: So, nothing recently that you can think of?

Caroline Miller: No, except that one morning not too long ago, Frederick told Lizzie that would be a good day not to get a hundred percent on his test. That night he rushed into the house, and as he went into his office, he said something about catching the idiot with the perfect score.

Detective Murphy: Any idea who he was talking about?

Caroline Miller: I'm trying to remember if Frederick ever mentioned a name, but I'm sure he didn't. He was very careful. He had impeccable personal integrity.

Detective Murphy: Could it have been Marc?

Caroline Miller: I would've remembered if he mentioned Marc, detective. If a student was cheating, it wasn't Marc. He doesn't need to cheat because he studies. And so does Lizzie, if that's who you're going to accuse next. And so does Jimmy.

Detective Armstrong: Well, that's interesting.

Caroline Miller: What is?

Detective Armstrong: We asked about Marc, and you jumped all the way to Jimmy. Do you find that interesting, Detective Murphy?

Detective Murphy: Maybe more telling than interesting.

Caroline Miller: What do you mean by that?

Detective Murphy: Well, sometimes people try to point the finger elsewhere as a sort of smokescreen. You know, to try to throw us off the scent, as it were. We're talking about Marc, and you throw Jimmy's name out there. Okay, we'll bite. What about Jimmy?

Caroline Miller: Nothing. I wasn't … I was just making a point that … just that he studies. That's all.

Detective Armstrong: How do you know that?

Caroline Miller: I've seen him out cramming before a test. Usually with his mother. Why they don't do this at home is beyond me. Last time I saw them, they had things strewn all over the table at High Point Coffee, and she was drilling Jimmy with flashcards. The poor kid was mortified.

Detective Murphy: When was this?

Caroline Miller: Oh, I'd say a month ago?

Detective Armstrong: Why do you say Jimmy was mortified?

Caroline Miller: When I walked up to say hello, he turned bright red and scrambled to gather the study materials. He knocked a flashcard on the floor, and both he and his mother grabbed for it. They almost knocked their heads together. I said hello, and Stephanie told me they were busy, so I walked away.

Detective Murphy: Why is it so strange to you that Jimmy's mother helps him study?

Caroline Miller: Because he's a teenaged boy, but she treats him like a small child. But that's how Stephanie has always been. Very involved. Always pushing Jimmy and looking for ways to help him get ahead. Everyone thinks Lizzie has it easy because her dad's a teacher at the school, but actually, it's harder.

Detective Armstrong: How so?

Caroline Miller: Her father didn't give her the special treatment that people assumed she got. She told me once that she didn't think it was fair that she had to constantly study so hard, and Jimmy could cram the night before a test and do well on it.

Detective Armstrong: And Marc? What were his study practices? Did he work hard, or did he just coast and then cram right before a test?

Caroline Miller: Nothing was handed to Marc, Detective. He's worked diligently to achieve everything he has.

Detective Armstrong: You're very loyal to the person suspected of killing your husband. Why is that, I wonder?

Caroline Miller: I know Marc Huddleston, Detective. Do you? Of course, you don't because if you did, you would never have accused him in the first place.

Detective Murphy: Well, thank you for your insight. We appreciate your candor today, Caroline. That's all the questions we have for now. We'll be in touch.

Interview ended – 1:51 p.m.