Tammy Freeman interview

Tuesday, October 18, 2022 – 3:18 p.m.

Tammy Freeman is a friend of Paul Evans' friend, Miguel Ochoa. 

Detectives Armstrong and Murphy interviewed her at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Tammy Freeman

Detective Murphy: For the record, could you please state your name and address?

Tammy Freeman: My name is Tammy Freeman. I live at 4335 South Adams in Oxford. Nice to see you again, detective, though the circumstances leave something to be desired.

Detective Murphy: I hardly recognized you, Tammy. Seems you've cleaned up your act since our last meeting.

Tammy Freeman: Yeah, I'm clean and sober now. Life is different.

Detective Murphy: We appreciate your coming in. This shouldn't take too long.

Tammy Freeman: My pleasure. How can I help you?

Detective Armstrong: Okay, let's start with how long you knew Kimberly Pace.

Tammy Freeman: I met her back in the summer, just after I started seeing Miguel… Miguel Ochoa.

Detective Murphy: Under what circumstances did you meet?

Tammy Freeman: Miguel and me went down to the Lucky Café to meet up with Paul, and Kimberly was with him.

Detective Murphy: So you went to meet up with Paul Evans, and Dr. Pace just happened to be there? You weren't expecting to meet her as well?

Tammy Freeman: No. See, Miguel was trying to encourage me with my artwork — I've taken up sculpting again — but I was a little depressed about it. You know how artists get all worried and convinced nobody gives a damn about what they're trying to communicate? Well, maybe you don't, but that's how I was feeling. Miguel thought if I met Paul it would boost my mood, I guess.

Detective Murphy: Did it? Boost your mood, I mean.

Tammy Freeman: Yeah, some. Anyway, the depression passed pretty quickly.

Detective Murphy: How much time did you spend with Mr. Evans and Dr. Pace that day?

Tammy Freeman: A little bit. I had to work that night, so I guess it was about an hour. She was nice; he was nice. We had some coffee and pie.

Detective Murphy: Then you left and went to work?

Tammy Freeman: Yes, that's right.

Detective Murphy: Did you ever see Kimberly again?

Tammy Freeman: Sure, a couple times. We doubled to the movies once and went and bowled a couple frames another time.

Detective Murphy: How would you characterize Mr. Evans and Dr. Pace's relationship?

Tammy Freeman: I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I think you're asking me if they got along? Well, yeah, I'd say they got along pretty good. I never saw them fight or argue or anything like that. Paul, I think, was really in love with her. He never seemed to notice other women when she was around. Like he only had eyes for her.

Detective Armstrong: Did he ever seem to have eyes for other women when Kimberly wasn't around?

Tammy Freeman: Not that I saw. I only saw Paul a couple times without her before… well, before they had the breakup. So I don't know if I'm much of a judge of it, you know? But if you want my opinion, I'd say he was pretty much just stuck on her.

Detective Armstrong: What about after the breakup? How was Paul's demeanor?

Tammy Freeman: Just sad, really. Sometimes he got kind of pissed, but mostly just sad. I could tell he missed her a lot, but he was too proud to call her and make up. You know how men get? They think the woman has to come to them, or it's some big cut on their ego.

Detective Armstrong: Did you stay at Miguel's house a lot? Did you have cause to see Paul in the last three weeks?

Tammy Freeman: Yeah, I'm over there pretty often, at least a couple nights a week. Mostly it depends on my work schedule and whether I'm trying to finish a piece. But yeah, I saw a lot of Paul after the breakup.

Detective Armstrong: How long has Paul been staying with Miguel?

Tammy Freeman: I'd say about three weeks, maybe a little less.

Detective Armstrong: Do you know why he moved out of Kimberly's house?

Tammy Freeman: Miguel said Paul heard some rumors about her and some students. Ugly things, rumors. Anyway, he couldn't deal with it, and so he moved out.

Detective Murphy: He was jealous of her students?

Tammy Freeman: No, I don't think he was really jealous. I think it just hurt his pride. They were supposed to be a couple, and she was spending time with her students, and it looked bad. At least, he seemed to think so. 

Detective Murphy: Is that what he said?

Tammy Freeman: I talked to him about it once, and I guess he really wanted me to agree with him, but I could see her point too. You know? Just because you're a woman doesn't mean you can't spend time with people. Sometimes you just have to say the hell with it and let people talk. 'Course, he didn't care for that point of view.

Detective Armstrong: Do you know how long Paul is planning to stay with Miguel?

Tammy Freeman: Miguel will let him stay as long as he wants. He's pretty upset right now. I don't think he should be alone. You know how depression can affect a body? Anyway, far as I know, he'll be there for a while.

Detective Armstrong: Did you think that Paul and Kimberly were going to get back together? Or did you think they were split for good?

Tammy Freeman: I figured they would. You know, they were just being stubborn, is all. You should have seen them together. You could see they were in love.

Detective Murphy: Do you know Becky Pace?

Tammy Freeman: Well, I've met her, but I wouldn't say we know each other.

Detective Murphy: What about Cheryl Weston?

Tammy Freeman: I met her at the Lucky — she owns the place — but we never talked much. Nice lady.

Detective Murphy: Do you know Jeremy Gladwell?

Tammy Freeman: Yeah, I know Jeremy. He helped me find a dog. He trains them, you know? He's really good at it.

Detective Murphy: How did you meet him?

Tammy Freeman: I saw an ad in the local paper and called him. I never knew he was friends with Kimberly until I saw his name in the news when she died. Small world, huh?

Detective Armstrong: Do you think Jeremy was hiding that fact for some reason?

Tammy Freeman: I doubt it. I mean, why would he? I guess it just never came up. Jeremy and me aren't real close. We see each other sometimes, maybe have a cup of coffee. That's all.

Detective Armstrong: When was the last time you saw Kimberly?

Tammy Freeman: I don't know. Must have been about a month ago. I ran into her at Square Books. We just said "hi" and went our separate ways.

Detective Armstrong: Where were you between the hours of 9:00 p.m. October 15th and 3:00 a.m. October 16th?

Tammy Freeman: I worked until about 9:00 p.m., then I went home and changed and met Miguel at Proud Larry's about 10:00 p.m.

Detective Armstrong: Was he on time?

Tammy Freeman: Yeah, we both drove up about the same time and met in the parking lot.

Detective Murphy: How long were you at Proud Larry's?

Tammy Freeman: Probably a couple hours. We had a few drinks and listened to the band for a while, then we went for a drive for a little while and then back to his place.

Detective Armstrong: When did you get to Miguel's?

Tammy Freeman: It was probably about 1:00 a.m., maybe later. Paul was sawing Zs on the couch, so we went off to bed.

Detective Armstrong: Can you think of anybody who would have wanted to hurt, even kill, Kimberly Pace?

Tammy Freeman: No. I didn't know her well, but she was just a nice lady who seemed to have a lot of friends. It doesn't make any sense. Maybe she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can't imagine anybody who knew her would do something like this to her.

Detective Murphy: Not even Paul? Would he do something like this?

Tammy Freeman: I wouldn't ever believe that about him. He has a temper and all, but he'd never hurt anybody that way. Least of all, Kimberly.

Detective Murphy: Okay, Tammy, thanks for coming in. If we have any further questions, our office will contact you.

Tammy Freeman: Okay.

Interview ended – 3:47 p.m.