Re-Canvass – Smith/O'Connor neighbors
After finding indications that someone may have been surveilling the Smith/O'Connor residence, the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department re-canvassed Veronica Smith's neighbors to determine if anyone saw or heard anything unusual or noteworthy in the area during the weeks before Dr. Smith's death.
The interviews summarized are some of the most typical or relevant to the investigation and are representative of all interviews conducted.
Butler
Name: Andrea Butler
Address: 136 Colonial Road, Oxford, MS
Mrs. Butler, age 32, lives in the residence immediately west of the Smith/O'Connor residence. Approximately 50 feet separate the houses.
Butler said she thought she had seen someone hanging around the neighborhood, but she was never sure because it was always a different car that didn't belong parked on the street. She thought the drivers might have been visiting people in the neighborhood, but she never saw anyone getting in or out of the cars.
When asked whether she thought she saw different drivers or the same one repeatedly, Butler said it could have been the same person, but she questioned whether one person would own so many cars. She said the drivers were always nondescript, middle-aged white males as far as she could tell.
When asked how often she saw these cars, Butler said she didn't see them every day but thought it might have been a few times a week. She couldn't be sure whether she saw them every week or how long it had been going on. Butler could not recall the last time she saw an unfamiliar car but thought it might have been sometime during the week before Smith's death.
Butler added that she did not remember seeing any such cars since Smith's death but again said she wasn't sure.
Crawford
Name: Bradley Crawford
Address: 145 Colonial Road, Oxford, MS
Mr. Crawford, age 46, lives directly across the street from the Smith/O'Connor residence.
Crawford said he had heard about Dr. Smith's tires being slashed, but his understanding was that the incident had happened at the hospital.
Crawford said he didn't remember seeing anyone lurking near the Smith/O'Connor property and noted that he would have called the police immediately if he had.
Duncan
Name: Lee Duncan
Address: 148 Colonial Road, Oxford, MS
Mr. Duncan, age 55, lives in the residence immediately east of the Smith/O'Connor residence. Approximately 40 feet separate the houses.
Duncan said he never saw anyone in the neighborhood who looked out of place.
Duncan reminded the investigator that the Smith/O'Connor's garage door opener interfered with his ham radio equipment and noted that the interference happened as much as half a dozen times on the night Smith died. When asked if six instances of interference were more or less than what he typically observed, Duncan said it was definitely more. He added that he could not account for the increased activity as he did not see vehicles entering and exiting that many times.
