Smiling woman with shoulder-length light brown hair

Margery Adams interview

Tuesday, January 14, 2020 – 4:00 p.m.

Margery Adams is the daughter of Rose Jenkins, a resident at Yoknapatawpha Acres, where Jerry Shaw worked.

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

Participants:

Detective Murphy: Thank you for taking the time to come in today, Mrs. Adams. Would you please state your name and your address for the record?

Margery Adams: Yes. My name is Margery Jenkins Adams, and I live at 1031 Dogwood Drive in Ashland, Mississippi.

Detective Murphy: Where do you work, Mrs. Adams?

Margery Adams: Oh, please, call me Margery. I'm a paralegal at Farrell, Wade & Associates, in Ashland.

Detective Murphy: We're investigating the death of Jerry Shaw, who was an orderly at the home where your mother lives.

Margery Adams: Not anymore, she doesn't. I'm in town to take her back to Ashland with me. I am absolutely disgusted with the care—or I should say, lack of care—she's received at Yoknapatawpha Acres. We've paid that miserable excuse of a man way too much money. He charges extra for nearly everything, and I refuse to give him another red cent.

Detective Murphy: What man?

Margery Adams: Richard Landrigan, the evil mastermind who runs that place.

Detective Murphy: Tell us what happened from your perspective.

Margery Adams: It's not my perspective. It's the truth. Listen to this. My mother was forced to wear a diaper for so long that there were maggots in it! When they finally got around to changing it, they just threw it into the trashcan in her room. That creep had the audacity to charge my mother for air freshener! Can you believe it?

Detective Murphy: You know for a fact that the maggots were present when the diaper was on her? Is it possible the maggots came after it was placed in the trash?

Margery Adams: I was told by one of the staff that it was on her. I will not tell you who.

Detective Armstrong: Was it Natalie Martin?

Margery Adams: I will neither confirm nor deny. I will tell you that Natalie did call me yesterday after she quit to let me know that she would not be there to ensure my mother's care anymore. She said she was concerned about my mother's well-being.

Detective Armstrong: What did you do after that phone call?

Margery Adams: I told my boss I needed a few personal days. Then I called Dr. James Franklin's office here in Oxford and scheduled an appointment for Mother. I wanted her checked out by an independent doctor. I drove down early this morning to take her to the appointment.

Detective Armstrong: How did that go?

Margery Adams: Dr. Franklin was appalled by his findings. He advised me to remove her immediately.

Detective Murphy: Did you?

Margery Adams: Yes, I did. I've arranged for her to move to Briarcrest Extended Care in Ashland. She'll be admitted there at the end of the week. Until then, she's staying with us. My husband came down after I told him what Dr. Franklin said. He's over at Yoknapatawpha Acres packing up Mother's things right now.

Detective Armstrong: Has she, by any chance, had anything to say about Jerry Shaw?

Margery Adams: She's all over the place, and it's no wonder. She's always going on about clocks. She can't tell me what clock she means, though.

Detective Murphy: Maybe some clock in her past?

Margery Adams: No, I don't think so. It almost seems like she links this clock to Jerry Shaw somehow because his name is often tangled up in what she's saying when she talks about it. What I don't understand is why that nursing home is still allowed to operate.

Detective Armstrong: I can assure you that the proper authorities are investigating the situation.

Margery Adams: Well, they had better move fast. That's all I'm going to say. Every day those residents stay there is a day they receive substandard treatment.

Detective Murphy: Thank you, Mrs. Adams, for your time. Good luck with your mother.

Margery Adams: Thank you.

Interview ended – 4:22 p.m.