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Tuesday, September 7, 2004 --
7:30 AM
The witness, who owns the lodge where Bacchanals' Destruction
was being filmed and rented it to Corwin Fitz, was interviewed by
telephone at
his home in JaWPson, Mississippi. The interview was conducted by Detectives Armstrong and Murphy and was
recorded on a portable tape recorder with the witness' knowledge and
consent.
- TA = Detective T. Armstrong
- SM = Detective S. Murphy
- WP = Wilbur Pratt
SM: For the record, please state your name, age, address and
occupation.
WP: I'm Wilbur Pratt. I am 54. I live at
740 Hickory Ridge Dr here in Jackson. I'm a plumber with my own company,
Pratt's Plumbing, serving Jackson and the surrounding area since 1978.
SM: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us today.
Please tell us about your relationship with Corwin Fitz.
WP: I first met the young man in February of this year.
He contacted me about renting the lodge I have up in west Yoknapatawpha.
At first, I wasn't sure that I wanted to rent it at all, but eventually
he offered to pay $1,500 a month and, since
me and my family weren't going to be able to go up there this summer, I
decided to rent it to him. So he took out the lease on May 1st. It was a
six-month lease and he paid all six months in advance.
SM: Did you speak with him after he signed the lease and moved
in?
WP: He called me on a regular basis to let me know everything
was going fine. There had been an incident early on where they had
broken a side table while they were filming a scene for the movie. We
discussed it, and he agreed to cover the cost for the table. After that,
he took to calling me regular to let me know everything was okay.
TA: Can you tell us anything about Corwin Fitz as a person?
WP: He seemed to be a real studious guy, real focused on what
he wanted to do. He was a real straight shooter with me and I liked him.
I didn't really understand him, but I liked him.
TA: Can you tell us anything else about Corwin Fitz or about
the time he was living in your lodge or anything like that?
WP: This was this one little gal who called me one day and
asked if she could come by and see me. I said sure and she came by the
shop. Said her name was Helen Troy and she was an old friend of Corwin's
and she'd been looking for him for a long time. She said she was heading
up to a retreat or something near Holly Springs and she'd heard Corwin
had rented a place from me. She wanted to stop by and surprise him,
seeing as how they were old friends and all that. Now, normally, I
wouldn't go for anything like that, but she was a sweet ol' girl -- real
nice looking, real polite, real persuasive -- and so I gave her the
address.
SM: Do you remember when this was? The date?
WP: It was 'round about June. The first week of June, maybe.
SM: Did you ever see her or hear from her again after that?
WP: No, I sure didn't. But she said she was going to that
retreat, women's group, whatever-it-was, so I didn't really expect her
to drop back by.
SM: Do you know if she actually did go to your lodge to see
Mr. Fitz?
WP: I have no way of knowing that. He never mentioned it, and
I didn't want to ask him, seeing as how it was supposed to be a surprise
and all.
TA: Did she give you any contact information so you could get
in touch with her? Did she ever leave you a message or anything like
that?
WP: You know, come to think of it, she didn't. When we were
working out a good time for her to come by the shop, she always said she
was on the move and she would call me back. You know kids these days. I
didn't ask.
SM: Did Corwin Fitz ever give you any addresses or references
for places he had lived before?
WP: You know, he didn't. He was going to. He always said that
he meant to send me that stuff, but he never did and, after awhile, I
just forgot about it.
SM: So you leased your lodge to him for six months and you
didn't have any references?
WP: Well, you know... I talked to people who knew him around
in Oxford. And I've known John McPhail for years and he said the kid was
okay so, you know, I believed him. 'Course, I knew Johnny was gonna be
out there too -- Corwin told me that -- and so I knew, if nothing else,
Johnny would keep an eye on the place. Wouldn't let those kids get all
crazy and destroy it.
TA: Okay, Mr. Pratt, is there anything you can think of that
you have to tell us that might be relevant?
WP: I'm not sure I have anything else to tell you, but I have
something to ask.
TA: All right. Go ahead.
WP: Y'all have had my lodge sealed up for quite a bit of time
now. Can you tell me when I'm gonna be able to get back in there? We're
coming up on hunting season.
SM: Well, sir, I don't know that offhand, but we can put you
in touch with the DA's office and you can work that out with them.
WP: That sounds like I'm not going to be able to use my lodge
this season.
TA: I hear you, Mr. Pratt. Hopefully, this case will wrap up
in time for you to use it, but it would be wrong for us to make any
promises because, right now, we just can't guarantee it. I'm real sorry.
WP: That's all right. I know you folks got a job to do. And
that Corwin was a good kid. Pretty unusual, no doubt about it, but I
think he had a good heart underneath all that.
SM: Well, we thank you for your time this morning. If you
think of anything else at all related to Corwin Fitz, please give us a
call even if it seems unimportant. You never know what little detail
might turn out to be the thing that solves the case.
WP: I definitely will. What happened to that young man was
terrible and I hope you catch the one who did it to him.
SM: Yes, sir. That's what we plan to do. You have a good day
now.
Interview ends -- 7:58 AM |
