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Interview: Christian
Chambers
N = Detective Terrence Nelson
C = Christian Chambers
N: Now, you say you have no clear recollection of how the
gun came to be there on the ground?
C: No, I don't. It was just there.
N: You didn't take it out of the car and carry it over
there?
C: No, I really think I'd remember that. The first time I
saw the gun was there on the ground.
N: For now, I think we've covered that enough. I want to
ask you again, you are sure you did not see anyone else at
the cemetery, anyone that might have seen you?
C: No.
N: Let's talk about what you did after the gun went off.
What happened then?
C: Well, I can't recall it all clearly. I guess I shoveled
the dirt in on top of Dale and put the stuff in the car and
left.
N: What things do you remember clearly, Christian?
C: I remember his head was, was bleeding, the hole in the
back of his head, and that part of his forehead I could see
was missing, in the dirt. I couldn't stand to look at it. I
think that's what drove me to cover him up as fast as I
could.
N: So you picked up the shovel and filled in the dirt on
top of him?
C: Yes. I can't really remember doing it clearly, but I must
have.
N: What else do you remember clearly?
C: I saw Dale's chain laying there by the shovel. I remember
that very clearly. It took me by surprise. I took it.
N: You took the chain? This is the one? (Note: Detective
Nelson showed Mr. Chambers the amulet found in his
home.)
C: Yeah, he always wore it. He must have taken it off or it
fell off while he was digging. I took it.
N: It was laying on the ground? You didn't take it off of
him?
C: No. I know I didn't touch him. It was on the ground.
N: Then what happened.
C: I put it in my pocket. I remember the birds were singing,
they were so loud. It was getting light. I remember the
birds. The next thing I remember clearly I was driving on
Jefferson and I thought of the suitcases. I realized I had
to get those away from Eastgate.
N: What did you do?
C: I drove over there and got them out of the ditch and by
then it was light out. I was so tired. I remember I just
wanted to go home and go to bed. I was almost home and I
realized I couldn't take all those suitcases home with me,
but there wasn't much time to do anything else. I kept on
driving and thought of that dumping area over off of Taylor
Road, by the highway. It wasn't that far and there aren't
any houses right there where anyone would see. I dumped the
luggage there and went home.
N: What time did you get home?
C: I don't know. It must have been a little before 8:00 I
think? I'm not sure. Somewhere around there.
N: Go on.
C: I went to bed. I slept all day. I didn't get back up
until later that night.
N: What time might that have been?
C: I think about 7:00 or 7:30.
N: Then what did you do?
C: I, I had some coffee and I, I tried to think. I went
through so many thoughts. I was in bad shape. I went back
and forth between panicking and going numb. I was, I felt so
guilty, so bad, I got the shakes, I felt like I was going to
vomit, or have a heart attack. I don't know. I thought about
my parents, about the Taylor's, about Dale and Crystal. I
cried. I was scared, no terrified. I had no idea what I was
going to do.
N: What did you decide?
C: I was going to call my father, but I couldn't make myself
finish dialing the number. I kept thinking about how this
would hurt them, my mother. I couldn't do that. Then I
thought I'd call you guys, and again, I'd pick up the phone,
but I couldn't make myself do it. The more time went by the
more I knew I wasn't able to call anyone, and that the more
time that went by the worse it was for me. I kept expecting
someone to come and arrest me any minute. I realized I had
to do something, so I took a shower. I knew I had to clean
out the car and I kept thinking that maybe my fingerprints
were all over the suitcases.
N: You decided you had to get rid of any evidence.
C: Yeah, I guess so. I got everything out of the car and
cleaned it up and put it away. By then it was getting late
and I was tired, but I was nervous about those suitcases.
So, I drove over and picked them up. I was terrified someone
would see me and I heard a car pulling up there into the
dead end just as I was covering the stuff. I jumped in the
car and took off. I didn't have time to tie down the
hatch.
N: We had a report of a car like yours driving
erratically on Old Taylor around 11:30 that night. That was
you, wasn't it Christian? You had the luggage covered by a
blanket.
C: Yeah. It was loose and flapping around, I was afraid it
would blow off.
N: Then what did you do?
C: I drove out highway 7 and dumped the stuff off of a
bridge. That creek was up from all the rain, it seemed like
a good place. I thought about taking off then, just keep on
driving, but I was so tired. I went home and went back to
bed. That's when the nightmares started. It's been bad.
N: Are the nightmares what finally made you decide to
call us?
C: Yeah, well no, part of it anyway. I was sure any minute I
was going to be arrested. I got to where I was waiting for
it, wanting it to happen. I guess I thought once you found
them you'd know it was me and it would be over.
*****
N: We are working on tracing some of the truckers you
rode with now, Christian. I want to review those details,
see if there's anything we missed.
C: Yeah, okay.
N: Now, you say you picked up your first ride on 6?
C: Yeah. That was Scooter.
N: From Alabama?
C: Right.
N: You didn't get any other information on him, his last
name?
C: No.
N: How far did you ride with Scooter?
C: Just to Jackson.
N: That was the 49 Truck stop there outside of
Jackson?
C: That's right.
N: How did you get into the metro center to the bank?
C: I caught a ride down and walked most of the way back.
N: Back to the truck stop.
C: Yes. I was looking for another ride. I got one with a guy
going to Shreveport. I can't remember his name. He was the
one with all the tattoos. It was something like Jack or Jake
or something. I slept most of that ride and we didn't talk
much.
N: Where was he from again?
C: I think Tennessee, Nashville. He talked about
Nashville.
N: Okay from Shreveport who'd ride with?
C: That was Curt Mills.
N: He was from El Paso, right?
C: Yeah. He took me most of the rest of the way to Mexico. I
tried to get him to take me over the border, but he
wouldn't.
N: After El Paso, then what?
C: I was trying to find someone to take me into Mexico. I
finally found a guy that said he would after a run into
Tucson. I don't know his name. We agreed no names. He knew I
was in trouble. All he wanted was the money.
N: How much did you pay him?
C: Twelve hundred.
N: You have no idea how we can verify that?
C: No. I don't know where he was from or anything about him.
I didn't want to.
N: All right. We've talked to the manager at the Penasco
Beach resort and they confirm your stay there.
** End Excerpts **
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