Canvass – victim's co-workers

Mr. Brown

Langston Brown
Age: 55
Principal

Langston Brown has been the principal at Yoknapatawpha High School for the last ten years. He made the final decision to hire Frederick Miller based upon his credentials and his firm stance as a teacher who follows the rules and makes sure that his students do the same.

Over the years, Mr. Miller got favorable reviews from Mr. Brown. However, he did describe Frederick making numerous complaints about his fellow teachers as well as the archery coach Travis Lancaster who he claimed Mr. Miller wasn't fulfilling the duties of the role.

Mr. Brown said he had counseled Mr. Miller about the importance of supporting each other and wouldn't be receptive to any more complaints unless they were of a crucial nature.

Ms. Durham

Miranda Durham
Age: 31
Physics teacher

Miranda Durham has been teaching physics at Yoknapatawpha High School for the last three years. In the previous year, she had gotten to know Mr. Miller a bit more through their conversations in the teachers' lounge, particularly their concern about the students' lack of respect, which seemed to be growing.

Ms. Durham knew of Mr. Miller's concern about cheating in his own class. She recalled how he said he had a sure-fire plan to catch someone. She didn't know who the student was or the specifics of the plan, but she said Mr. Miller had complete confidence that he would catch the culprit.

She was also aware of the ongoing problems Mr. Miller had with students Jimmy Bragg and Marc Huddleston. She knew that Marc had been dating Mr. Miller's daughter, Lizzie, and Mr. Miller was not happy about it. She didn't know what Mr. Miller's issue was with Jimmy Bragg but remarked that Mr. Miller felt like Jimmy wasn't living up to his potential.

Mr. Dutton

Steve Dutton
Age: 39
English teacher

Steve Dutton has been an English teacher at Yoknapatawpha High School for the last seven years, and by his own account, had numerous conflicts with Mr. Miller. All of these had to do with the curriculum Mr. Dutton was teaching, most notably books such as 1984, Animal Farm, and Fahrenheit 451. Mr. Miller had admonished Mr. Dutton for failing to also teach what he believed were the moral deficits in these books.

Mr. Dutton said Mr. Miller had made a formal complaint against him, but due to Mr. Dutton's good standing with the school, he was cleared of any wrongdoing and was able to stick to the curriculum he had created.

Ms. Holbrook

Jean Holbrook
Age: 25
Chemistry teacher

Jean Holbrook has taught at Yoknapatawpha High School for one year. She reported that Mr. Miller had made numerous remarks about how the clothing she wore wasn't appropriate for the school dress code. After she had consulted with Principal Brown, who said he saw nothing wrong with what she wore, Mr. Miller was warned to refrain from making such comments in the future.

Ms. Holbrook felt like Mr. Miller had less respect for her since she was younger and said he would often treat her more like a student than a fellow teacher. Overall, Ms. Holbrook didn't have a high opinion of Mr. Miller, saying that he was out of touch and living in the past.

Ms. McCarthy

Kristina McCarthy
Age: 53
Art teacher

Kristina McCarthy has taught art for the last twenty years at Yoknapatawpha High School. She said she and Mr. Miller had many disagreements over the years. Ms. McCarthy corroborated what a few other teachers had said: that they did not have a high opinion of Mr. Miller. Ms. McCarthy mentioned that many of them called him "Fred-prick" behind his back.

She said Mr. Miller often poked his nose into other teachers' business. He would offer his opinions and guidance on things such as the furniture in the teachers' lounge, politics, how they park, and acceptable levels of facial hair on students and teachers alike, even when no one had asked for his thoughts on any of these subjects.

Ms. McCarthy felt that Mr. Miller had a holier-than-thou attitude, which rubbed many of the teachers and students the wrong way.