Mee-Yon Kim interview #2

Wednesday, October 14, 2020 – 11:00 a.m.

Mee-Yon Kim was Courtney Morris's best friend.

Detectives Murphy and Parker interviewed her a second time at Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.

Participants:

• Detective S. Murphy
• Detective E. Parker
• Mee-Yon Kim

Detective Parker: Thank you for coming in again, Mee-Yon. Are you feeling any better?

Mee-Yon Kim: Not really. I just still can't believe she's dead. It's like a nightmare.

Detective Parker: I understand. We just have a few questions for you, okay?

Mee-Yon Kim: Okay.

Detective Parker: Can you tell us what you did on Sunday before you found Courtney?

Mee-Yon Kim: I woke up. I guess it was around 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning. I ate breakfast and watched CNN for a while. Then I texted Courtney to see if she wanted to hang out, but she didn't text me back.

Detective Murphy: What did you think when she didn’t answer you?

Mee-Yon Kim: I didn't think it was a big deal at first because it's not like she always has her phone on her. She could have still been sleeping—she was really tired with the baby and all—or she could have been in the shower. Anyway, I showered and got dressed, then walked to the coffee shop and hung out there for a while.

Detective Parker: Which coffee shop?

Mee-Yon Kim: Uptown Coffee. I grabbed a newspaper and just sat there for a while.

Detective Parker: What time was that?

Mee-Yon Kim: I don't know. Maybe noon? I texted Courtney again after a while to see if she wanted to get lunch. Let me check my phone … that was at 1:47 p.m.

Detective Murphy: Can I see your phone?

Mee-Yon Kim: Sure. See, there's the text: "Wanna get lunch?" But she didn't respond to that one either.

Detective Murphy: Can we see the previous text?

Mee-Yon Kim: Yeah, let me pull it up. There it is, at 11:12 a.m. "U up?" And then I sent her another one at 11:20 a.m. "Text me. Let's hang." But she didn't answer any of them.

Detective Parker: Did you find that suspicious?

Mee-Yon Kim: Yeah, actually, I did. She always texted me back within at least an hour. And she didn't answer any of them that day. Now I know it's because she was … Oh my God, it's just so sad.

Detective Parker: Take your time, Mee-Yon. Here's a tissue.

Mee-Yon Kim: I'm sorry.

Detective Parker: It's okay.

Mee-Yon Kim: I'm fine. I can keep going.

Detective Murphy: Mee-Yon, what did you do after the third text went unanswered, the one you had sent asking her to lunch?

Mee-Yon Kim: I waited a half-hour for her to text me back, and when she didn't, I grabbed a muffin at the coffee shop. I took my time eating it, and when I finished, I texted her one more time. When she didn't respond, I headed to her apartment.

Detective Murphy: What time was that?

Mee-Yon Kim: It must have been … well, hang on. I texted her that last time at 2:58 p.m. So I probably got to her apartment about 20 minutes later.

Detective Murphy: And that's when you heard the music from inside her apartment and went to get the apartment manager?

Mee-Yon Kim: Yeah.

Detective Parker: Mee-Yon, did Justin call you at all that day?

Mee-Yon Kim: No, he didn't.

Detective Parker: Do you mind if I see your phone again?

Mee-Yon Kim: Sure.

Detective Parker: Okay, I don't see him in your call history, but you could have erased it.

Mee-Yon Kim: Why would I do that?

Detective Parker: I'm not accusing you of doing that, Mee-Yon. But you know that we can subpoena phone records, and if you’ve been dishonest about anything, we will eventually find out.

Mee-Yon Kim: Yes, of course. But I'm not lying.

Detective Murphy: Mee-Yon, when you left Courtney’s on Saturday night, what time was that?

Mee-Yon Kim: Around midnight.

Detective Murphy: Did you see anyone when you left?

Mee-Yon Kim: No.

Detective Murphy: Anyone in the parking lot, sitting in a car or standing around or walking through?

Mee-Yon Kim: No, I don’t think so.

Detective Murphy: Did Courtney ever mention anyone ever bothering her at night? Causing a disturbance outside her apartment late at night or anything like that?

Mee-Yon Kim: No. Did someone do that? She would’ve told me.

Detective Murphy: We have a report that someone might have been out there at some point that night, but we don’t know whether it had anything to do with Courtney. You’re sure she never said anything about anything like that?

Mee-Yon Kim: She definitely would’ve told me about something like that. Is that who killed her? Do you know who it was?

Detective Murphy: We don’t know whether that person had any connection to Courtney, but we are looking into it.

Detective Parker: Mee-Yon, have you remembered anything else since we talked before that you think we should know about?

Mee-Yon Kim: No, I wish I had.

Detective Parker: Okay. Thank you, Mee-Yon. We appreciate your time. We'll be in touch if we need anything else.

Mee-Yon Kim: Thank you.

Interview ended – 11:18 a.m.