Stephanie Bragg alibi check

YCSD investigators re-interviewed the people who attended the Sewcial Compassion event at Faith and Glory Community Church on the evening of Thursday, April 10, in an effort to corroborate Stephanie Bragg's whereabouts at the time Frederick Miller was killed.

The witness statements provided below are in summary and not verbatim and are representative of all interviews conducted.

Bethann Aaronson
Age: 65
Faith and Glory Community Church member and choir member

When asked if she noticed anyone coming or going when she arrived after choir practice, Ms. Aaronson said that she didn't specifically remember seeing anyone in the hallway aside from other choir members who were also coming to the Sewcial Compassion event.

However, she noted that when she and the other choir members arrived, people were up and about, so it wouldn’t have been noticeable if anyone else had arrived or left at that time.

Ms. Aaronson said she was replacing buttons on a dress shirt and chatting with friends when she heard the sirens. She and several others went to the lobby area and looked out the windows to see if they could catch a glimpse of what was happening. Ms. Aaronson couldn't say where Stephanie Bragg was at that moment, but she wasn't with them in the lobby.

Evelyn Chatham
Age: 47
Faith and Glory Community Church member

Ms. Chatham said people came and went throughout the event, and as far as she noticed, no one was gone for more than a few minutes at a time.

She noted that Stephanie Bragg was in and out of the room frequently, but that was no surprise, given that she was hosting the event. When asked where she thought Ms. Bragg was going when she left the room, Ms. Chatham said she assumed that Ms. Bragg was going to the kitchen to get supplies.

Ms. Chatham said she was in the parlor, talking to her sister on her cell phone, when she heard the sirens. When she got out to the lobby, several other people were already gathered around the windows. She couldn't see anything, so she went out to the parking lot along with a few others to find out what was happening. She said Ms. Bragg didn't go out to the parking lot with them, but Ms. Chatham didn't know whether Ms. Bragg was part of the crowd in the lobby.

Margaret Davis
Age: 56
Faith and Glory Community Church member

Ms. Davis said she was assisting Stephanie Bragg with the Sewcial Compassion event. While she doesn’t remember anyone, in particular, leaving during the event, it was a casual gathering, so people could come and go whenever they wished.

She confirmed that she couldn’t find a cake knife, and after being unable to get into the kitchen, she asked Ms. Bragg for assistance. She said Ms. Bragg got frustrated and took her aside to explain that she didn’t have time to look for someone with a key to the kitchen because she had a lot of other things to do.

However, Ms. Bragg did eventually agree to go look for someone, and she went to do that just as the choir members started arriving. They had planned to serve the cake after choir practice let out, which is why Ms. Davis became extra concerned about the cake knife situation.

Ms. Davis said that before Ms. Bragg had returned to the event about 15 minutes later, she ended up finding the cake knife, which had been set out on the table the whole time. However, by that time, Ms. Davis noted, the event had already been ruined due to what she called "the unfortunate incident." She was glad they had found the cake knife, however, so they could feed everyone since they had been forced to stay there so late that night.

Helen Santos
Age: 39
Faith and Glory Community Church member

Ms. Santos said she moved around the Fellowship Hall a lot that evening because she doesn't like to sit still for too long. She said there was a lot of talking and laughing that night, and everyone walked around at various points to get different pieces of clothing to mend or to get thread, buttons, or other supplies, so she's not sure how noticeable someone leaving for a few minutes would've been.

She said she had chatted briefly with Stephanie Bragg a few times that night. She added that not long before all the excitement, she saw Ms. Bragg leave the Fellowship Hall through one of the side doors after an intense conversation with Margaret Davis. Ms. Santos said she assumed Ms. Bragg was taking a moment in private so she wouldn't lose her temper, as Ms. Davis can be a very trying person at times.

Ms. Santos said she wasn't sure where Ms. Bragg was when they heard the sirens. Ms. Santos went out to the lobby with several others to try to see what was going on, and soon after, Ms. Bragg tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she could see what was going on. She said Ms. Bragg tried to stop people from going out to the parking lot, saying the police probably wouldn't like it, and they should all return to their sewing and let the police handle whatever was happening.

When the police escorted everyone back to the Fellowship Hall, Ms. Bragg and Ms. Davis served cake and encouraged people to go back to what they'd been working on. Ms. Santos said people were starting to get freaked out, and she thought Ms. Bragg and Ms. Davis were trying to divert everyone's attention to something else since no one could leave.