Jennifer Adams interview
Saturday, July 15, 2023 – 11:38 a.m.
Jennifer Adams is a cheerleader at Yoknapatawpha High School and is the person who found Katy Brown's body.
Detectives Armstrong and Murphy interviewed her at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.
Participants:
- Detective T. Armstrong
- Detective S. Murphy
- Jennifer Adams
Detective Murphy: Thank you for talking to us today. I know this must be upsetting.
Jennifer Adams: They said you needed to talk to me.
Detective Murphy: We do, but we'll get to that in a minute. First, we need your name and address for our records.
Jennifer Adams: Oh. Okay, my name is Jennifer Adams, and I live at 228 St Andrews Circle.
Detective Murphy: Have you lived there long?
Jennifer Adams: All my life. I was born there. When I was born, my mom didn't have time to make it to the hospital, and so my dad delivered me. They tell everyone they see about it. It's embarrassing.
Detective Murphy: Tell us what happened this morning, Jennifer.
Jennifer Adams: I was at Cheer Up. It's this mentoring thing we do where we help younger cheerleaders at the middle school.
Detective Murphy: What time did you arrive?
Jennifer Adams: It started at 10:00 a.m., but we were supposed to get there early.
Detective Murphy: Were you on time this morning?
Jennifer Adams: No, I overslept and didn't get there until about 9:45 a.m.
Detective Armstrong: Were the others there when you arrived?
Jennifer Adams: Everyone but Katy and Coach Puskus. We worked on getting the supplies all set up until the coach got there.
Detective Armstrong: What happened after that?
Jennifer Adams: Katy still wasn't there yet, so Coach had us go ahead and start breaking the younger kids into smaller groups while she called Katy's parents.
Detective Armstrong: Did you hear what was said?
Jennifer Adams: Some of it. Coach Puskus asked about Katy, and Katy's mom said Katy had left at her usual time.
Detective Armstrong: Did you actually hear what Katy's mom said?
Jennifer Adams: No. Coach Puskus told us what she said after she calmed Mrs. Brown down and hung up.
Detective Murphy: How did you know Mrs. Brown needed to calm down?
Jennifer Adams: Because of how Coach Puskus was talking to her. I've seen the coach try to calm enough people down.
Detective Murphy: Did you see Katy that morning?
Jennifer Adams: No, I hadn't seen her at all.
Detective Armstrong: Were you and Katy close friends?
Jennifer Adams: Yes, we were the best of friends. We spent time together and talked about the jocks we were interested in. We went shopping and wore each other's clothes.
Detective Armstrong: What happened after the coach got off the phone?
Jennifer Adams: Coach Puskus had told Mrs. Brown that she would check the path that Katy used, so that's what we did.
Detective Armstrong: Who is "we"?
Jennifer Adams: Just Coach Puskus and me. Everyone else was working with the kids.
Detective Armstrong: So you two went to check the path. Then what happened?
Jennifer Adams: I ran ahead, and Coach was right behind me. It was terrible! Do I have to talk about it?
Detective Armstrong: I'm sorry, Jennifer, but yes, we need to hear everything. What did you find?
Jennifer Adams: Katy. She was just lying there on the ground. I started running to her to see if I could help her. I thought maybe she had tripped and hurt herself.
Detective Murphy: Here are some tissues.
Jennifer Adams: Thank you.
Detective Armstrong: Did you help Katy?
Jennifer Adams: Hello, is anyone at home? She was dead!
Detective Armstrong: So you didn't try to help your friend?
Jennifer Adams: I stopped when I was close enough to see her face. Oh, it was terrible. She was dead. Dead! I can't go on. I just can't.
Detective Murphy: I know this is hard to talk about. Let's change focus a little. Where were you this morning before you went to Cheer Up?
Jennifer Adams: I told you I overslept. I was up late last night, and even though the alarm woke me up, I dozed off again.
Detective Armstrong: How did you get to the middle school today? Did you walk or drive?
Jennifer Adams: My mom dropped me off because she said she needed my car to take Queen Elizabeth to the vet even though I was already running late, and she has her own car.
Detective Armstrong: Queen Elizabeth?
Jennifer Adams: Yes. She's one of our dogs. Her latest puppies are just a couple of months old, and Mom and Dad said Queenie wasn't feeling well, so they called the vet, and he told them to bring her in so he could look her over.
Detective Murphy: When was the last time you saw Katy alive?
Jennifer Adams: At school yesterday, I guess.
Detective Murphy: What were you doing at school yesterday?
Jennifer Adams: We had cheerleading practice, you know, we have to get ready before football season starts.
Detective Armstrong: Did you kill Katy?
Jennifer Adams: What? No, of course, I didn't.
Detective Armstrong: Do you know who did?
Jennifer Adams: No. I still can't even believe this happened.
Detective Armstrong: Did Katy have any enemies?
Jennifer Adams: I certainly wasn't one! I liked Katy.
Detective Armstrong: How about everybody else?
Jennifer Adams: It's hard for me to even think about this. Sherry certainly didn't like Katy, but other than that, I'm not sure.
Detective Armstrong: Who is Sherry?
Jennifer Adams: Sherry Guyton. She used to be on the squad until she broke her ankle.
Detective Armstrong: Why doesn't she like Katy?
Jennifer Adams: I don't know. Ever since she got hurt, she and Katy haven't been getting along.
Detective Armstrong: Why not?
Jennifer Adams: Why are you asking me? Why don't you ask Sherry?
Detective Murphy: I know this is stressful, Jennifer, but try to hang in there with us. Did you notice anything in the woods that didn't look right? For instance, did you see anything out of place or any objects that didn't seem to belong there?
Jennifer Adams: No, I didn't see anything but Katy. And when I saw her face, I screamed and covered my face with my hands. Please, I can't talk anymore. Can I leave now?
Detective Murphy: Yes, you can go for now, but we will need to talk to you again later.
Interview ended – 12:03 p.m.
