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 Witness
Interview: Josh Clarence (Tip) Tatum, Jr.
Tip Tatum, 30, part-time clerk at the Big Star grocery,
discovered a jacket and knife Thursday, March 12, in an
overgrown area along Toby Tubby creek between McLarty Road
and South 18th in Oxford. Tatum reported the discovery by
calling 911, and was questioned by patrol officer Scott
Vittel at Tatum's apartment off Ross Avenue at 5:30 p.m.
V = Officer Scott Vittel
T: Tip Tatum
V: Afternoon, Mr. Tatum. I just need to get a few details
for our report, if you have time.
T: Sure. Sure. Man, I still can't believe I found that
stuff.
V: Could you go over again how you came to find the
items?
T: Yeah. Right. Well, I was coming home from work. I'm a
clerk over at Big Star, part-time. I got off at 4, right,
and I was walking home 'cause my car's in the shop.
V: Where's that?
T: Huh? Oh. Where's the ca- It's over at Express Brake. Took
it in this morning for an alternator and he called me at
work and said he'd need to keep it overnight. Great, right?
Cold as, uh, damn cold outside today and I'm stuck without a
car. Tried to get hold of somebody to pick me up, but
everybody's out of town, y'know, spring break. Everybody but
us that have to work. Can't afford a trip anywhere,
anyway.
V: So why were you in the field?
T: Oh. Right. Yeah, I live- well, you know where I live.
You're here, huh? Okay. So I figured it wasn't far, so I'd
just walk it. But I didn't want to stay out in this god
awful cold any longer than I had to, so I cut across that
vacant lot between the MickeyD road and 18th.
V: How'd you happen to find the jacket and knife?
T: Couldn't miss 'em. Well, I guess y'could. Yeah. Probably
easy, now that I think on it. But it was the shine I saw.
Guess the sun was just at the right angle and it caught on
this shine. Musta been off the knife. Anyway, it was
brighter than, like, a coke can or something. So I trotted
over to see if maybe it was anything interesting and there
it was. Man, I freaked. I mean, it was all dirty and stuff,
but still. Damn. I knew sure enough that was blood, even old
and ... y'know. Like it was and there was that bloody rag
thing or whatever it was laying there.
V: Did you touch the items?
T: Nossir. Not at all. I leaned over to get a better look,
but as soon as I realized what it was, I got the hell away.
Man, I was so freaked, I didn't even think about which way
to go. I was sprinting for home before I had time to think.
Called you guys straight up, right when I got home.
V: That was at 4:23?
T: I guess, if you say so. I didn't look at a clock. Hell, I
don't even know what time it is now.
V: Thanks, Mr. Tatum. I think that's all I need.
T: You're welcome. Right. Hey, so was it what it looked
like? Somebody got cut up?
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