Thursday, April 20, 2000 - 2:30 p.m.

In response to the detectives' request for an interview, Ken Edwards arranged a meeting with Det. Murphy and Det. Armstrong in his office at the First National Bank of Oxford.

SM = Det. S. Murphy
TA = Det. T. Armstrong
KE = Ken Edwards

TA: Thank you for taking time to talk with us, Mr. Edwards. I know you're a busy man.

KE: That's true. What can I do for you today?

TA: First, would you please state your name and address for the record?

KE: Certainly. Kenneth John Edwards. I live at County Road 327

TA: Thank you. Mr. Edwards, I'm sure you realize that Trudi Rose was found dead in her office recently.

KE: Yes, I heard about that.

SM: What do you know about it?

KE: Only that she was poisoned, I believe?

SM: That's correct. Where were you on Monday, April 3rd?

KE: Here at the bank, of course. I live here, you know.

TA: I understand. You were at the bank all day, then?

KE: Except at lunch. I went over to Ajax, always do on Mondays. Had pork chops, I think.

SM: Do you remember what time that was?

KE: Around noon. I always eat at the same time. I'm sort of a creature of habit. Am I a suspect?

SM: At this stage of the investigation, everyone is a suspect. You did have a serious grudge against Mrs. Rose, I would imagine.

KE: My motives for that were completely fair. She turned me into the town laughingstock, you know.

TA: The Natasha Van Moore situation?

KE: Of course. No one deserves that. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

SM: Who is your worst enemy?

KE: Natasha, of course. The way she flaunts around this town right under my nose, spending my money.

TA: What exactly was it about your relationship with Natasha Van Moore that turned you into, in your words, "the town laughingstock?"

KE: She tricked me into marrying her so she could get her hands on my money.

SM: How did she trick you?

KE: She lied.

SM: About what?

KE: About her past. About how she spent her time before she met me. Hell, for all I know, she might have lied about how she spent her time after she met me too. At some point, I had to stop checking up on her stories. It was just too humiliating.

TA: Maybe I'm a little slow, Mr. Edwards, but I'm not really getting your meaning. What had she done that you found so distressing?

KE: Let's just say, she had a lot more... dates before we met than she originally told me. Look, I can't go into specifics - it's part of our settlement agreement - but, from my point of view, the whole thing was pretty... sordid. The kind of thing a man in my position can't afford to be associated with.

SM: Was your wife doing something illegal?

KE: Ex. Ex-wife. No, I myself never saw her do anything illegal, other than the usual small stuff - speeding occasionally, maybe rolling through a stop sign now and then, that kind of thing.

SM: I see. So, you wouldn't have wanted to see anything happen to Mrs. Rose, would you?

KE: I had nothing against her personally. She just made a very, very bad business decision.

SM: Putting you together with Ms. Van Moore?

KE: Exactly. Don't get me wrong. Natasha was a lot of fun, but I don't think I would have married her if I had known everything I know about her now. In fact, I know I wouldn't have.

SM: Do you blame Mrs. Rose directly for that?

KE: She has to take some of the blame, yes, but I realize some of it was my fault. I should have been more careful. I should have waited longer to get married, gotten to know her better. Natasha was too young for me, too wild. She liked to go out a lot and, when she wanted to go out and I didn't, she just went without me. Most of those times, she came back long after I was asleep. I always thought it was because she was so young and wanted to be out in the bars with her friends, listening to the bands...

TA: Kelly Clinton, Mrs. Rose's business partner, told us that Cupid's Couples keeps a small bank account at First National. Is that true?

KE: I don't know the names of every account holder off the top of my head, but yes, I think they have a small account there.

TA: Did you ever give Mrs. Rose or Ms. Clinton reason to believe the funds they keep in your bank were in jeopardy, particularly when your lawsuit against them was still pending?

KE: Of course not! That would be unethical and improper. And I would never use whatever influence I may have in my professional life to settle a personal score.

SM: Do you ever buy brownies or bake them at home, Mr. Edwards?

KE: No.

SM: Never?

KE: No. I'm diabetic, Detective. Fortunately so far, I've been able to control my condition with diet and so on and I don't have to deal with insulin injections or any of that unpleasantness. But I definitely don't eat brownies.

TA: Mr. Edwards, are you familiar with any poisons and how they work?

KE: Not especially. I use rat poison around that ranch of mine sometimes. It's out in the country and there are all kinds of creatures wanting to get in and out of my house all the time.

TA: That's the only poison you have ever used?

KE: That's correct.

TA: When was the last time you used any rat poison?

KE: Oh... I don't know exactly. It's been a few months back probably.

SM: I want to thank you again for making time to meet with us, Mr. Edwards. We'll be in touch if we have any more questions.

KE: It's my pleasure. Call me when you need a loan.

SM: We'll do that.

End interview: 2:50 p.m.