Lauren Joseph interview

Tuesday, December 2 – 4:48 p.m.

Lauren Joseph has been variously described as Morgan Pierce's fiancée, his girlfriend, and his ex.

Detectives Armstrong and Murphy talked with her at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Lauren Joseph

Lauren Joseph: Sorry I'm late. I got held up at work.

Detective Armstrong: That's all right. We understand. Just have a seat and take a breath. Can we get you some water or anything?

Lauren Joseph: No, thank you.

Detective Armstrong: Okay. Would you state your name and address for the record?

Lauren Joseph: I'm Lauren Joseph, and I live at 1502 Madison Avenue.

Detective Armstrong: That address sounds familiar. Do you live with anyone?

Lauren Joseph: Yes, my fiancé, Morgan Pierce.

Detective Armstrong: Right, that's why it's familiar. So, as you're probably aware, one of Morgan's employees was killed on Sunday.

Lauren Joseph: Yes, Carly. It's so awful.

Detective Murphy: Did you know Carly?

Lauren Joseph: Yes. Sometimes, I help out at the shop when they're slammed.

Detective Murphy: What did you think of her?

Lauren Joseph: Carly was great. So nice, really good with the customers. That's why Morgan gave her the full-time job. I told him he should pick her.

Detective Murphy: He asked you who he should choose for the job?

Lauren Joseph: Yes. Well, no. I'm not sure. We were talking about the situation. I don't remember if he specifically asked me what I thought, but I told him anyway.

Detective Murphy: He gave her the job, so he must have listened to you.

Lauren Joseph: I guess so.

Detective Murphy: Do you know who the other candidates were?

Lauren Joseph: The only other serious candidate was Nancy, and don't get me wrong. She's very competent. But she can be a little … intense. It's not always the right vibe for one of Santa's elves, you know?

Detective Murphy: Did Morgan say how Nancy reacted when she didn't get the job?

Lauren Joseph: I'm sure she was disappointed. I think her life is pretty stressful in general, and not getting the job probably didn't help.

Detective Murphy: Did he say if she was angry or sad about it?

Lauren Joseph: He didn't tell me. He doesn't like to talk about uncomfortable things.

Detective Murphy: This might be uncomfortable, too, but have the two of you talked about who you think might've killed Carly?

Lauren Joseph: I can't imagine anyone I know doing something so horrible.

Detective Murphy: Does Morgan have a theory about who did it?

Lauren Joseph: If he does, he hasn't told me, but I doubt he has any idea either.

Detective Armstrong: Do you know where Morgan was on Sunday night?

Lauren Joseph: He was at Carly's at the party.

Detective Armstrong: You didn't go?

Lauren Joseph: It was just for employees.

Detective Armstrong: Don't you work there sometimes?

Lauren Joseph: I do, but I'm not really an employee. Besides, I haven't worked there since last December. But I probably will be helping out soon since it's the busy season, and they … don't have Carly anymore.

Detective Armstrong: Do you know what time Morgan got home after the party?

Lauren Joseph: Let me think. I think it was around 10:45 p.m.

Detective Armstrong: Did he tell you anything about the party?

Lauren Joseph: He said it was fun, and he thought everyone had a good time. But he was pretty tired, so we didn't talk about it much.

Detective Armstrong: How did he seem when he got home, other than tired?

Lauren Joseph: I don't know. Fine. If you want the truth, he was probably a little tipsy, but I don't know that for sure. We probably should've planned for me to pick him up so he wouldn't have to worry about drinking and driving, but I didn't expect it to be that kind of party.

Detective Armstrong: What kind of party?

Lauren Joseph: One with a lot of drinking. Most people try to avoid overdoing it in front of their co-workers.

Detective Armstrong: Fair enough. What did you do while Morgan was at the party?

Lauren Joseph: I just puttered around the apartment, worked on wedding plans a little.

Detective Murphy: Have you set a date?

Lauren Joseph: Not yet, but it's probably going to be sometime next spring or early summer. I want to do it before it gets so hot.

Detective Murphy: That sounds like a good idea. Are you planning to invite people from the shop?

Lauren Joseph: It's a little early to say for sure, but I'm sure we will. They're the people Morgan spends the most time with.

Detective Murphy: So your relationship with Morgan is good, no hiccups or bumps in the road since you got engaged?

Lauren Joseph: Rock solid. No problems at all. Why do you ask?

Detective Murphy: We'd heard that maybe the two of you were splitting up, or maybe already had.

Lauren Joseph: Where did you hear that? That's not true.

Detective Murphy: A couple of people we've talked to have mentioned it.

Lauren Joseph: More than one person said that? Where would they get that idea?

Detective Murphy: I wouldn't know. They seemed to connect it with Carly's promotion, like maybe he gave her the job because he wanted to go out with her.

Lauren Joseph: What? That makes no sense. I'm going to talk to Morgan about this tonight because he needs to get this cleared up right away. He can't let his employees think something like that. It's disrespectful to Carly and me.

Detective Armstrong: So you don't think there's any truth to it?

Lauren Joseph: No, I do not, and I don't appreciate the suggestion that Morgan would cheat on me.

Detective Armstrong: I can understand that.

Lauren Joseph: He wouldn't!

Detective Armstrong: Yes, ma'am.

Detective Murphy: Thank you so much for coming in this afternoon, Lauren. We won't take up any more of your time today. We'll be in touch if we have any additional questions.

Lauren Joseph: Okay. I hope I helped. How do I get out of here?

Detective Murphy: We'll get an officer to show you out.

Interview ended – 5:24 p.m.