Teddy Zeboe interview

Sunday, April 19, 2020 – 10:20 a.m.

Teddy Zeboe had the male lead role in Dalton Kimbrough's film, Death to the Revelers. He told multiple YCSD officers at the crime scene that he had killed Dalton Kimbrough.

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

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Teddy Zeboe

Detective Armstrong: All right, son, for the record, please state your name, age, address, and occupation.

Teddy Zeboe: Teddy Goodfellow, 23, actor. I live at 412 Mimosa, and I'm sure I've been evicted from there for failure to pay rent, so I guess I'm homeless. In care of the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.

Detective Armstrong: What's this Goodfellow? I thought you said your name was Zeboe.

Teddy Zeboe: That's my stage name. You know…

Detective Murphy: What's it mean?

Teddy Zeboe: I dunno.

Detective Armstrong: They tell me you're a strange guy. Any truth to that?

Teddy Zeboe: I've been misunderstood my whole life. What can I tell you? What can I tell you that you haven't already decided for yourself? Are you gonna put me away or what?

Detective Armstrong: Who's asking the questions here?

Teddy Zeboe: F*** the questions, chief. What you want is answers, am I right?

Detective Armstrong: Yeah, so…

Teddy Zeboe: So.

Detective Murphy: So, did you do it? Did you kill Dalton Kimbrough?

Teddy Zeboe: I told you I did.

Detective Murphy: I know you told us, but did you actually do it?

Teddy Zeboe: Of course, I did it. Damn it, put me away.

Detective Murphy: Why did you do it?

Teddy Zeboe: I just helped facilitate. It was his will. He wanted out.

Detective Armstrong: You can't help someone commit suicide. And who would choose to go out like that? It's ridiculous. It's murder.

Teddy Zeboe: He was gonna kill me. Can you blame him? I admire the hell out of him. I've thought of bailing out myself. Many a time… after a good performance. Take a bow, stick a gun in my mouth, and shower the audience with gray matter. Share my knowledge with them.

Detective Murphy: When did he ask you to kill him?

Teddy Zeboe: You were supposed to say, "So, what's stopping you?"

Detective Murphy: We'll pick our own questions, thanks. Now tell us exactly what happened. Did Kimbrough ask you to kill him?

Teddy Zeboe: Yes.

Detective Murphy: When did he ask you?

Teddy Zeboe: Only every day! Every day for the f*****g life of me! No need to feel sorry for him!

Detective Murphy: Okay, when did he threaten to kill you?

Teddy Zeboe: He shot at me one day, several days ago. Probably three or four days before I did it. I was doing a scene, and we didn't agree about how it should be played, so he chased me up a tree and started shooting at me. I felt the bullets whizzing past my face as he was yelling, "Why won't you kill me!" That kind of s*** will make you react. It gives new meaning to assisted suicide. You're a cop. You ever ask yourself that question: Him or me?

Detective Armstrong: Never mind that. At what point—

Teddy Zeboe: Man, what if I had a gun stashed in my boot right now, and I pulled it out right here?

Detective Armstrong: All right, now just sit down and stop acting crazy. We all know you were searched before you came in here, and there's no way you have a gun, so just stop with the nut-job act.

Teddy Zeboe: See there. See there! Everything's an act. That's some Dirty Harry s*** right there.

Detective Armstrong: Enough of this playing around. Are you gonna answer our questions? How do we need to see this through? I'm beginning to think you're full of it.

Teddy Zeboe: Look, man, I'll tell you what happened. Me and Kimbrough, we'd been going at it for days, round and round. The movie had pretty much come to a halt, and the dam was ready to break, no doubt about it. Kimbrough had tried everyone's patience. He'd assaulted almost everybody. Just insane behavior, trying to keep us on the set.

Detective Armstrong: What do you mean he assaulted everybody? Give us some examples.

Teddy Zeboe: He tied Johnny up. He raped Gwen and kept her in this vile sexual servitude. He shot at me and threatened to cut me in my bunk at night. We were all out of our minds, man. So the night before I did it—and I don't even remember the day of the week—

Detective Armstrong: Do you mean last night?

Teddy Zeboe: Yeah, sure. If you say so. The point is, he put a f****n' snake in my bunk. Luckily, I found it before climbing in, but I couldn't sleep all night because of that and the screams coming from his bedroom. I guess he had Gwen in there doing God-knows-what. I was so wired, and everybody was lookin' to me to do it.

Detective Armstrong: They were?

Teddy Zeboe: So this morning, I kicked the f****n' door in, and I took his machete, and I ripped into him. And then I took one of his guns, and I put a couple of fat ones in his head. And I ain't a bit sorry.

Detective Murphy: Would you sign a statement confession attesting to all of this?

Teddy Zeboe: You bet I would. I couldn't give a s*** at this point, to be honest with you. I'm a hero. Just ask those six people. I'm a hero. I'm the star.

Detective Murphy: Tell us what he did to Gwen.

Teddy Zeboe: I'll say no more. I've told you everything there is.

Detective Armstrong: You're telling us he tortured all of you.

Teddy Zeboe: That's right.

Detective Murphy: Why did you stand for it? Why not just leave and report his behavior to the police?

Teddy Zeboe: Look, he was shooting at us. He would have killed us had we left.

Detective Murphy: When did this behavior begin?

Teddy Zeboe: Uh…

Detective Armstrong: Goodfellow, when did Kimbrough begin acting this way?

Teddy Zeboe: I've told you what you wanted to know.

Detective Murphy: There are too many holes here. Now, why won't you clear this up for us?

Teddy Zeboe: Look here, how long do I have to let my hands soak in blood? Don't gimme that. I can wring my own neck. And God knows I can wring yours. But what good would it do any of us? We may as well be at the arcade tossing quarters down the chute.

Detective Armstrong: Goodfellow!

Teddy Zeboe: Last night, I dreamed that I died, but my spirit wouldn't rise. I was abandoned on earth, and what few spirits lingered would have nothing to do with me.

Detective Armstrong: Are you going to tell us anything about what happened in real life and not your imaginary world?

Teddy Zeboe: Who knows, man?  Who knows what's real and what's not?  How can you tell?

Detective Armstrong: Okay, that's it. Enough.

Teddy Zeboe: Good night. To sleep, perchance to dream. Aye, there's the rub.

Detective Armstrong: Whatever you say, kid.

Interview ended – 10:48 a.m.