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Beginning at 3:00 p.m., February 2, 2001 and continuing on February 3,
2001 and February 4, 2001, Detectives Ted Armstrong and Sam Murphy interviewed
various people who were in Murff's on January 26, 2001. In an interview
with Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department dated January 29, 2001,
JP Wallace provided the following as names of people who could corroborate
his presence at Murff's: Franklin, Bobby; Swanson, Jack; Tatum, Jimbo;
Unknown last name, Mike. These people and other Murff's patrons were interviewed
to determine whether they remember Wallace's presence at Murff's on January
26, 2001 and to gather any relevant information they might possess. The
witness statements provided below, in summary and not verbatim, are representative
of all interviews conducted.
- Bobby Franklin, resident at 116 Filmore, Oxford. Mr. Franklin
stated that he did in fact remember JP Wallace at Murff's on the day
in question. He said that he first remembered seeing Wallace around
3:00 p.m. He said that Wallace said hello, bought him a beer and they
talked about the upcoming basketball game for a few minutes. Franklin
asked Wallace what he had going on that night, and Wallace replied that
he was going to "go see Missy for a while" and then wasn't
sure what the rest of his night's activities would entail. When asked
if he had made a phone call to or received a phone call from Wallace
that afternoon, Franklin stated he occasionally makes and receives such
phone calls while he is at Murff's, but he could not recall whether
such a call had taken place on January 26. When questioned about the
length of time that he remembered seeing Wallace at Murff's on January
26, 2001, Franklin replied that he saw him off and on throughout the
afternoon and evening. Franklin remembers a large crowd being at Murff's
that day and said that he didn't talk to anyone in particular for any
length of time. He just occasionally saw Wallace, although he did remember
Wallace being at the bar "pretty late."
- Jack Swanson, resident at County Road 123, Abbeville. Mr. Swanson
stated he remembered Wallace being present at Murff's. Said he first
saw Wallace around 3:00 p.m. and talked to him for a while. Later, Wallace
told him that he was going to see "Missy," whom Swanson understood
to be Missy Hammond, and that he would be back after a while if anyone
was looking for him. Wallace then returned a very short time afterwards.
Swanson remembered Wallace's return very distinctly, because "everyone
gave JP a hard time about it." Swanson did not know how long Wallace
stayed at Murff's, but claimed that Wallace was still there when he
left at 10:30 p.m.
- Jimbo Tatum, resident at 18 Lincoln, Oxford. Mr. Tatum stated
he got off work at lunchtime and headed over to Murff's. He said he
remained there for the rest of the afternoon and that he remembered
seeing Wallace there, but could not remember what time. Tatum claimed
to have been extremely inebriated and blamed that for the fuzziness
of his memory. He knows that Wallace was there, but cannot provide any
specific details. Tatum was, however, able to provide the last name
for the "Mike" Wallace referred to in his interview. Tatum
said that this reference was to Mike Zimmerman.
- Mike Zimmerman, resident at 618 Madison, Oxford. Zimmerman
stated that he remembered Wallace at Murff's. He thought that Wallace
might have left again later in the evening, "maybe around seven."
When pushed for details, Zimmerman backed off, saying that he wasn't
positive that Wallace actually left the bar, that maybe he just didn't
see him.
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