|
Tuesday, March 17, 1998
Guest: Christian Chambers
Opening Remarks:
It's been kind of hard. He was a good friend, and we
were close...
<thinking>
I've heard some rumors though that have upset me
deeply about all of this. If Dale's death wasn't horrible
enough, people have been smearing his name and mine by
saying we were gay and involved, which is untrue. We were
just close. There was nothing more, sure I helped him out
a lot, but that's what friends do, right? I mean, sure
sometimes it seemed like Dale was just using me, but he
helped me out when I was battling my drinking problem. So
I mean, it wasn't like he didn't do anything for me. But
anyway, this has been very hard on everyone. Dale was a
good guy.
I guess I can take your questions now.
But I felt I needed to straighten out the rumors
first.
Question and Answer Session:
Q: Who did you hear rumors from?
A: Well, I surf the net, I've seen what's been said on
the site. I found it very hurtful to see that people
thought Dale and I were gay. We were just friends.
Q: Why do you have two cars? Is one your parents' or
something?
A: Well, I really only drive the Beamer, but I had the
Honda before I got the Beamer. They are both my cars. I
usually use the Honda when the Beamer's in the shop or
I've loaned it out to a friend.
Q: Exactly what did you witness be specific?
A: Witness? I'm just here to give some background
information on my friend... Oh! You mean the screen name?
That's just the name they told me to use when I was
online tonight. I would've used my own handle, but I was
asked to use the A Witness one to help with the interview
and not create confusion.
Q: How well did you know Crystal?
A: When we were younger I knew her pretty well, but as we
got older I didn't see her as much. Dale and Crystal were
always training for their next event. She was always real
sweet though. I just didn't talk to her much in high
school. I was really Dale's friend, and not so much
hers.
Q: Was the Beamer in the shop the time of the
murder?
A: No, it wasn't.
Q: Christian were you jealous of Dale?
A: Jealous? No. Not really, I mean, I guess sometimes,
with all of his attention, but to be honest, I really
would've hated being in his place. I'm not one for
athletics really. I like art, music, literature, and the
net. I love to play on the net. Dale never had time for
stuff like that. I always ended up doing it for him. He
had no life. I prefer to be left in solitude to do my own
thing, and Dale always had people watching everything he
did. Especially his Dad.
Q: When was the last time you heard from Dale?
A: Well, I called him the night he was leaving for
Colorado. I was calling to say good-bye and wish him luck
with the new coaches. I called around...hmm...5 I guess,
because his parents were having that big good-bye dinner
thing they did every time Dale and Crystal were ready to
leave to go somewhere...training or competition...
Q: Do you have any other friends besides Dale?
A: Yeah, a few, more online than anywhere else. I talk to
a lot of people online, 'specially Kiss. She's a doll.
But I hang out with a few people...not many though. I
like the online relationships a lot because you can meet
so many different people from so many different
places.
Q: Is your BMW black? Ever get either car dyed?
A: It's a dark charcoal grey color. No dye jobs, I'm
afraid <grinning>. Or paint jobs either. I keep her
in great shape. I love my car.
Q: Do you have any friends that you don't get along
with?
A: Well, I mean there are times I get a little frustrated
with my friends, but I get along with them pretty well
most of the time. They wouldn't really be my friends if I
didn't get along with them. Right?
Q: What is your opinion of Dale and Cyrstal's
relationship? Were they close?
A: They were real close as far as I could tell. Dale and
Crystal had a complex relationship though. They were real
close and all, but they had their fights too. Their Dad
was always expecting so much of them. He was always
demanding that they do their best, and basically tried to
shelter either of them from having a life outside the
rink. And sometimes that would cause Dale and Crystal to
get really tense and even fight with each other.
Especially after they placed seventh. I remember Dale
telling me how hard his Dad came down on them for that.
Dale was really upset about it, and his performance, plus
he was really angry with Crystal because she wouldn't go
through with the lift at the end. Dale also complained
that Crystal was talking about dropping skating all
together. He was NOT happy about that. And his Dad was
less happy about it than he was.
Q: Did anyone borrow either of your cars the night
Dale and Crystal left for training?
A: No. I didn't lend out either of my cars that
evening.
Q: What were Dale's plans for his future?
A: He was really driven...he wanted fame...and the
endorsements. He wanted to win the gold for the money. He
thought that if he got the money from the endorsements
and then went pro he could have it all. He even thought
that when he got ready to retire he might try
sportcasting...like Dick Buttons or Scotty Hamilton...or
something. But he never seemed to want to actually work
for it. He always seemed to lean on other people to do
all the work and he wanted the free ride. But he tried, I
guess. I mean, he did get really upset when he wasn't
doing well. But I think he seemed to blame Crystal for
when he screwed up.
Q: What was Josh Tatum's reaction when he found the
jacket and the knife?
A: (Answered by Elizabeth Jones) From Officer Vittel's
comments (who interviewed him) and what Detective Nelson
had to say, I think he was very freaked and also very
excited about finding something so important.
Q: Did you have any involvement in Dale and Crystal's
death, any roll at all?
A: <looking shocked> No, of course not! I wouldn't
have done anything to Dale, I was always helping him
out...why would I hurt him?
Q: Do you and your friends do drugs and how many knew
the car was in the shop?
A: The car wasn't in the shop. And no, none of my friends
do drugs nor do I.
Q: Did you ever see Dale with a knife? Do you know if
he owned one? Do you own one?
A: Yes, Dale had a knife. He used it for sporting and
stuff, like hunting.
Q: If Dale called his Dad saying he did something
stupid, how do you think his Dad would react? Also,
Christian, do you own a knife too?
A: Dale's Dad? Depends on what he said... Sorry, I
thought...oh...yes, I own a knife as well. A hunting one,
hardly ever use it though. Dale's Dad always expected so
much from Dale. That's why I always helped out. His Dad
would go ballistic at times when Dale would screw up. I
even had to cover for him once when he hit a tree in the
car. I said I was driving so his Dad wouldn't find out.
He was terrified that his Dad would flip out, so I said
that it wasn't a big deal, I'd say I was driving and take
the blame. So I paid for the damage, and the ticket, and
Dale's Dad never found out. Dale's Dad could be really
hard on him, so I just felt it wasn't such a big deal to
take the blame.
Q: You said you helped Dale out alot. Can we assume
that if Dale called you, in need of help, that you would
do whatever you could for him?
A: Yeah, I helped him out a lot. Did some papers for him,
helped him out of jams, spotted him some cash when he
needed it. I'd do what I could for him within reason.
Sometimes I think he didn't really appreciate what I did
for him. He was always so busy though, so I let it slide
a lot.
Q: Did Dale ever repay you for the ticket and
damages?
A: No, but it wasn't a big deal. I mean, he didn't have a
job to pay me back, and it wasn't like he could go to his
Dad for the money. His Dad would've gone nuts. Anyway, he
didn't have the cash to pay me back. But it really wasn't
a big deal.
Q: Did Dale call you the night of the murder, after
midnight?
A: No, he didn't. I hadn't heard from him since I called
him the night before he left. Well, I have to get going.
I hope I've helped in some way.
Wednesday, March 18, 1998
Guest: Detective Terrence Nelson
Opening Remarks:
Well, there's been quite a twist in Christian's story
it seems. I received an email from a young lady by the
name of Tania. She claims that Christian was online
talking to her early that morning after 1 am...when
during their conversation, Christian up and left with no
good-byes or anything. Now this may not be anything, but
it would make Christian's story not totally airtight.
I've set up a phone interview with her and she has agreed
to be interviewed on Crimescene tomorrow evening. The
phone interview is also tomorrow.
I'll take questions.
Question and Answer Session:
Q: Do you think Dale and Christian were lovers?
A: No, Christian has a girlfriend, and apparently has a
few online female crushes. He stated that he and Dale
were never lovers, I have no reason to disbelieve him on
that.
Q: Would you say that Christian is the prime suspect
right now?
A: No, I wouldn't, but I also won't rule him out until
after I've investigated this a little more. He's
definitely someone we are keeping in our limelight. And
now with this little piece of info that we've received
from Ms. Hotchkiss, well, I'd like to examine Christian a
little further.
Q: Have Christian's cars been checked for trace
evidence?
A: We'd like to have some, but we don't have enough
probable cause for the warrant on him or his vehicle.
Q: How reliable is the email from Tania and what doors
has it opened in the investigation?
A: Well, that's what we are trying to determine. I
haven't been able to fully investigate her yet, but it
does put a hole in Christian's story...the timing is
off...he said he was studying for an exam and then was
online all evening with a friend. If she says that he
logged out in the middle with no explanation, well,
something isn't matching up.
Q: Are you going to check with AOL or whatever online
service Christian and Tania have to see if he was really
online?
A: If the interview with Tania warrants it, then we will,
but we need probable cause for that because we also need
a warrant for that.
Q: Have you questioned Crystal's dad about their
relationship?
A: Yes, and we've also subpoenaed the medical records -
he's denying anything happened. That investigation is
already in progress.
Q: Have you checked into the possibility that
Christian is homosexual and maybe had feelings for
Dale?
A: Christian has disbanded that rumor. He states that
there was no relationship of that sort between he and
Dale. We've no reason to disbelieve him.
Q: Can you tell us more about the knife that was
found? Prints, blood, the jacket, and can we assume it
was Dale's knife?
A: There are only Dale's prints that we've found, and it
is definitely a murder weapon in this case. The blood
found on the knife matches Crystal's blood type but we
haven't gotten the DNA test results back to totally
confirm that. We have been told that Dale did own a knife
like that, however that hasn't been confirmed either.
This doesn't necessarily mean that Dale is the murderer,
sometimes items found like this have been used as self
defense...that's why we sent the blood samples in for DNA
testing.
Q: Will you be wanting to confiscate Christian's
computer for what ever info might be in it?(love messages
to other men, death and sex fantasy, etc.)?
A: If it's warranted, sure the computer would be included
in a search, but again we don't have probable cause for
such a confiscation yet.
Q: Tania is from New York I believe? If he was online
with Tania at 4:00 a.m., what time would it be in
Oxford?
A: 3 a.m., Oxford is CST.
Q: Wondering if Shane had been questioned regarding
either father or Dale abusing Crystal?
A: That is part of the other investigation, we haven't
found any reason to question him again about this case at
the moment.
Q: Can forensic science be fooled by just putting
blood on a weapon that wasn't used to perpetrate a
crime?
A: If that's all there was on the knife maybe yes, but
there are too many other factors taken into
consideration. Blood smeared on would be different than
tissue and so on in microscopic pores on the surface. The
tests can usually tell.
Q: Christian was upset before the bus left and went to
met Dale and had a fight.
A: We don't have any proof of that or really any actual
reason to believe that, but it's definitely a theory to
look into.
Q: Do you have any suspects under surveillance?
A: Right now we are keeping many different people under
surveillance. We haven't ruled anyone out totally as a
suspect because this case is VERY complicated.
Q: Have you questioned the mother on her drinking
problem? What really was going on in this family?
A: That's a good question, we're trying to find that out.
There is major investigation on with that. We've been
questioning, but the whole family...rather what's left of
the family...has not been very helpful. They haven't been
very forthcoming with answers to our questions, I'm
afraid.
Q: What is the first time the morning of the death
that anyone actually saw Christian and what was his
state?
A: We don't really know the answer to that, the only time
I've interviewed him was when this was a missing persons
case, and there wasn't a reason to ask that.
Q: What is the connection between Maggie and
Christian? Also, since Christian played music as well as
Shane are they connected?
A: As far as we know, they just know each other from when
they were in school together...they aren't really friends
to our knowledge, other than that there is no connection
we've found. Shane and Christian have met, but they
haven't worked on any music together.
Q: With this new evidence on Christian will you
interview him again, is he a suspect, and when will you
interview again, also what is the time of death of the
victims?
A: We plan to interview him tomorrow. About the hours
because he is still a suspect.
Q: Any idea on when Crystal's medical records will be
received?
A: The deadline is the 20th as required by the
subpoena.
Q: Has Christian (or anyone, for that matter) been
asked about Dale's missing amulet, and who gave it to
Dale in the first place?
A: We've questioned everyone on it, and it hasn't turned
up yet. Dale received the amulet from a family in Egypt
as a good luck talisman while he and Crystal were at
competitions. Their mother is providing a sketch and some
information on it, but we don't know when we'll have that
for you all.
Q: Wonder if that's an Ego Shovel connection?
Woolworth's been in Egypt.....just a thought.
A: Good question, I'll have the guys look into that.
Q: Has Christian agreed to come in for another
interview voluntarily and does he know about the email
that you received from Tania?
A: He has agreed...and no he doesn't know about the email
we've received. Unless he reads about it on the site
tonight. I read a transcript of the interview last night
and he seems to have kept tabs on what was being said on
the site.
Q: What's your next move Detective?
A: Well, we're going to question Christian about the
timing. It's our number one priority right now. Then
we're going to see what the lab results come back as. And
if it looks like it's warranted by what we get back from
the interview and the results from the lab...then search
warrants...do you all have any other suggestions?
Q: Have the parents identified the knife as Dale's
property?
A: The knife will be back tomorrow and we hope to get a
confirmation from Dale's parents on the knife.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone! We'll be keeping
them in mind.
Thursday, March 19, 1998
Guest: Tania Hotchkiss
Opening Remarks:
I'm not sure how much I can tell you. I talked to
Detective Nelson today and well, he seems to think that
Christian might really have something to do with this. I
don't know about that. Actually, I'm worried about him,
he won't answer my e-mail. Ok so what do you want to
ask?
Question and Answer Session:
Q: What fantasies did you and Christian share online?
Death, murder, sex?
A: I knew you would ask me that. Just about anything but
not death and murder, sex, maybe ;0
Q: How much did you talk about your lives in the real
world? Did he ever mention his friendship with Dale to
you?
A: We talked as little about the real world as we could.
He mentioned Dale once but no details, just that he was
that skater.
Q: Do you talk to Chris in normal chat or in Instant
Messaging?
A: we'd grab a private chat room.
Q: Tania, are you a guy? Or are you a female?
A: rofl a female
Q: Can you go over the times on the night of the
murder one more time for us?
A: Yeah, did that quite a bit today. I was on from about
1 to 5 my time. We started chatting about 2 no, 2 is his
time 3 mine, it was just a little after 4 and he just cut
out. At first I thought it was a bump, but he never came
back, he doesn't do that. I tried to call and got his
answering machine. He didn't send me any e-mail
explaining it either. I haven't been able to get him to
call or e-mail since then, that's what's strange.
Q: You have his personal phone number?
A: yeah
Q: Did he ever mention Crystal?
A: no he didn't mention her
Q: Does he still have that screenname and are you
blocked from I-ming him?
A: yes he still has the screen name, I haven't seen him
on line to try so I don't know
Q: Could he be bisexual?
A: he never said exactly but I think he is
Q: Have you talked to him between the night of the
murder and now?
A: no he won't return my messages
Q: Why do you suspect his being bi?
A: hey listen I don't know that he's bi, just don't know
he isn't. one of the things we did was set up worlds,
like one week I'd make up the rules and limits and he'd
have to make up a whole story around it, then he would
and like that. we got pretty far out sometimes.
Q: How did you find out about this case on the
internet? Do you visit Crimescene often?
A: I found it a couple months ago when I was looking up
Oxford. I check it out every now and then.
Q: Have you told Christian any hidden secrets? Has he
told you any?
A: Yeah, he was a trekkie.
Q: Did Chris and you ever fantasize about killing?
A: no nothing like that
Q: What do you do in NY?
A: operations manager for Dillon Read
Q: What kind of car does Christian drive the most?
A: shoot, I don't know probably his beamer we drove the
info highway ;)
Q: Did any of his fantasies have any violent
tendencies at all?
A: about as far as he went was playing a Worf like role
hehe
Q: In your talks with Chris did he seem to be a
control freak?
A: hmmm....well...not a freak but he's got a powerful
presence, he's in control, one of the things I like about
him
Q: Worf = violent Klingon = warrior race = murder in
the first degree
A: Now wait a minute I never said anything about murder
in the first degree.
Q: Can you explain to us your motives for sending
Detective Nelson the email about your last chat with
Chris?
A: yeah, I was afraid he was dead, I thought maybe
something happened to him, too
Q: Does Christian have a picture online? Do you have
one?
A: he sent me pictures, that's him on the screen
Q: Do you remember exactly what you and Christian were
talking about just before he signed off?
A: yeah, not sure I want to go into it though but he was
right in, we were in the middle of a good fantasy and he
just went, just like a bump but like I said he didn't
come back, not typical
Q: Do you know if he owned a shotgun?
A: a shotgun. never told me
Q: If in some of your talks he lost control what would
he act like?
A: that's a tough question I don't think he really did
that, not sure what to say about that, he was good at
role playing
Q: So you would say that your last chat was going
along normally before he left, no tensions?
A: Yes it was, that's why cutting off and then no contact
at all is so unusual
Q: What were you most attracted to him about online?
Was he your first relationship online?
A: I really like the guy. He's self assured, he's got
money :::winks:::, he's fun, we got along real well
Q: Tania what day did you last talk to him?
A: Sunday night/money morning really February 2, what's
wrong with money?
Q: Freudian slip, Tania...it's supposed to be Monday
morning lol
A: lol yeah Monday, yes on my mind, you put it there he
he. I work on Wall Street, money rules.
Q: So basically you are telling us Christian did not
have an alibi?
A: yeah I guess that's what it comes down to, after
talking to Detective Nelson today. when I read about the
timing on the web I got upset about it I hope he doesn't
have anything to do with this.
Q: You can not recall at all what you said to him that
night?
A: I didn't say anything to make him sign off like that
if that's what you mean
Q: Can you recall anything that he said to you that
night?
A: yeah I remember, he didn't say anything was going on
that would take him off-line
Q: During your times talking with Christian, did he
send you any internet links?
A: yeah we sent each other links from time to time
Q: Did Chris have a separate phone line for his
computer? Mailer Deamon hasn't returned the emails? what
about status? read?
A: yeah he had two lines, no returned e-mail he's getting
the mail just not answering me, well, he's picking it up
or someone is, not deleting
Q: Tania, does Chris have your address?
A: No, he knows where I work and he has my phone number
so I guess he could find me
Q: Do you fear in the least if you were to meet him in
person?
A: no not at all, I don't think he killed anybody
Q: I didn't ask you that.
A: well it was kinda obvious wasn't it?
Q: Do you 100% with a gut feeling believe that he did
not kill? You know 2 people are dead .
A: right, 100% I can't see it
Q: Tania, do you have anything left to say that would
help with this case?
A: Nothing I can think of. Why don't you email him and
ask him some of these questions yourself? Maybe he'll
answer you, looks like he's not talking to me. I hope
he's okay. I think something is wrong here or he would be
talking, but I don't think it's that he killed
anyone.
|