Thursday, March 3, 2022 – 11:15 a.m.
Sheila Love is an actress in Oxtales Theatre. She is reportedly dating Andrea Stover's ex, Frank Tuttle.
Detectives Armstrong and Murphy interviewed her at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.
- Detective T. Armstrong
- Detective S. Murphy
- Sheila Love
Detective Armstrong: Hi, Sheila. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for coming into the office today.
Sheila Love: Of course. I don't know that I can help you, but I'd certainly like to try.
Detective Murphy: Would you please state your name and address for the record?
Sheila Love: Sheila Love and I live at 2400 Anderson Road.
Detective Murphy: And how did you know Andrea Stover?
Sheila Love: I worked with her in the Oxtales Theatre group.
Detective Murphy: How long have you been a member of Oxtales?
Sheila Love: For about three and a half years, I guess.
Detective Murphy: Do you have any other jobs?
Sheila Love: I work for a real estate firm. Oxtales is only at night and on weekends.
Detective Murphy: What was your opinion of Andrea and how she directed the group?
Sheila Love: Andrea was very determined, and she had a very clear vision of what she thought the group should do. She and I didn't always see eye to eye on things, but we managed to work together well.
Detective Armstrong: Did you agree with her choice of material and the way she presented it?
Sheila Love: Are you asking if I liked all the shock value stuff? Not really. My taste in theater runs much more old-fashioned and conservative. I just like to tell good stories and entertain. I don't think you have to yell at people, figuratively or literally.
Detective Armstrong: But you stuck with the group even though you disagreed?
Sheila Love: It's great experience. Plus, I have to admit that it's really been a confidence builder. I've done so many things under Andrea's direction that I didn't think I could do before.
Detective Armstrong: Like what?
Sheila Love: Like some of the nudity and stuff. I can't say that I want that to be the pinnacle of my acting career, but I don't think I would've taken off my clothes had I not appeared in an Andrea Stover production. I guess it's like a military guy going through basic training. I don't always like it, but I think it'll make me a better actress in the end.
Detective Murphy: Did you participate in the "Snopes" production?
Sheila Love: Yes, I had a small role.
Detective Armstrong: Were you prosecuted for the production?
Sheila Love: No. Luckily, I was never arrested or anything for that. I knew the play would be controversial, but I didn't think it would be that bad.
Detective Murphy: What did you think of the way Andrea handled the situation?
Sheila Love: I thought she took the whole tortured artist thing a little bit too far. I mean, it's important to have principles and all, but I wouldn't go to jail. She was a small-town artist putting on small albeit cutting edge plays. It's not like she was Salman Rushdie or something. I would have plea-bargained if it had been me, but she was bound and determined to stand up for her art.
Detective Armstrong: Sounds like you didn't much care for her.
Sheila Love: I told you we didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things.
Detective Murphy: Did you see eye to eye about Frank Tuttle?
Sheila Love: Well, uh, what do you mean?
Detective Armstrong: Are you involved in a romantic relationship with Frank?
Sheila Love: Yes.
Detective Murphy: And was Frank involved with Andrea at one time?
Sheila Love: Yes, they dated for a while before she went to jail. It wasn't anything serious—more a matter of convenience than anything else.
Detective Armstrong: But he did visit her in prison, didn't he?
Sheila Love: Every once in a while.
Detective Murphy: Did you ever visit Andrea in prison?
Sheila Love: No.
Detective Murphy: Did Frank and Andrea ever hook up once she was released from jail?
Sheila Love: No! Frank and I are very much in love.
Detective Murphy: You sure about that?
Sheila Love: Of course, I'm sure.
Detective Murphy: Are any of the other members of the company romantically involved?
Sheila Love: Not that I'm aware of.
Detective Murphy: When did you last see Andrea Stover alive?
Sheila Love: It was the last night we rehearsed.
Detective Armstrong: Tell us about the rehearsal.
Sheila Love: We had been working pretty hard. We stopped at dinnertime and ate the food everyone had brought. We had a good time with dinner. Then we started rehearsing again, and it got ugly. No one could get along. Ethan was mad about some rewrites, and Dale and Andrea were fighting.
Detective Armstrong: How were you getting along with everyone?
Sheila Love: Well, I was just fine. Why would you ask that?
Detective Armstrong: Just trying to get the whole picture.
Sheila Love: Anyway, finally Andrea got frustrated and said we should just stop. I thought we could work through it, but when she made up her mind, there was no talking her out of anything. So we all left.
Detective Murphy: What did you do then?
Sheila Love: Frank, Dale, and I went to Murff's to get a drink. We stayed there for a while, and then Frank and I went back to my place, and I guess Dale went home.
Detective Armstrong: What time did rehearsal end?
Sheila Love: Around 9:30 or 9:45 p.m.
Detective Murphy: Did anyone join rehearsal while you were working?
Sheila Love: Yeah, Owen came by towards the end.
Detective Murphy: Did anyone leave rehearsal before the entire group broke up? Anyone leave early?
Sheila Love: No.
Detective Murphy: Did you have any idea what Andrea was going to do after rehearsal?
Sheila Love: No. As I said, she wanted to end rehearsal, so we ended it. I wasn't going to hang around and listen to her complain.
Detective Murphy: Did you ever hear anything about Andrea being afraid of heights?
Sheila Love: Yes. Frank told me about that, although I never saw it for myself.
Detective Murphy: Given that, does it surprise you that Andrea would be up on the skywalk at Oxford Centre?
Sheila Love: Not really. She had mentioned staging a play there, so I knew she was interested in the location. As I said, she was really determined about her art. If she's willing to go to prison for her work, I think she would be able to handle her fears if she thought there was artistic value to it.
Detective Murphy: Can you think of anyone who might want to see Andrea dead?
Sheila Love: I don't think so. A bunch of us were talking. It seemed like everyone thought some of the religious nuts were possibilities or the parents of those kids. But I don't have any evidence or anything. I just saw the hatred they had for her during the trial with all those protests and demonstrations and things. I guess some of them might have been fanatical enough to do something.
Detective Murphy: Did Andrea ever mention being afraid for her safety?
Sheila Love: Not to me.
Detective Murphy: Okay, I think that's about it for now. Thanks for your time.
Interview ended – 11:57 a.m.
