Alibi check – Lizzie Miller
From 3:00 p.m. to approximately 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, October 31, 2020, Deputy Willits and Deputy Watson interviewed employees at High Point Coffee, located at 265 N. Lamar Boulevard.
In an October 30 interview with the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Miller said she was studying at the coffee shop on the evening of Thursday, October 29, 2020.
Employees were interviewed to determine whether or not Ms. Miller was present at the coffee shop between 5:30 and 9:00 p.m. on October 29.
The witness statements provided below are in summary and not verbatim and are representative of all interviews conducted.
Costler
Sean Costler
Shift Supervisor
Mr. Costler is one of the shift supervisors on staff at High Point Coffee. He was the acting manager on duty on the evening of October 29, 2020. He said two other employees were working that night, Amanda Gergen and Kendall Jackson, both of whom were currently on shift.
When shown a photograph of Lizzie Miller and asked whether he recognized her, Mr. Costler said she looked familiar and had probably been in the store before, but he doesn't remember having ever interacted with her.
When asked whether he had seen anyone in the store studying on the evening of October 29, Mr. Costler said it was quite common for students to come in to study, but he doesn't recall seeing anyone in particular on that evening. Mr. Costler added that he had spent most of the evening in the back office, so he didn't see many of the customers who came in that night.
Gergen
Amanda Gergen
Cashier
When shown a photograph of Lizzie Miller, Ms. Gergen said Ms. Miller looked vaguely familiar, but she didn't recall any specific interaction with her and wasn't certain about whether she had ever seen Ms. Miller in the store.
Ms. Gergen said she did not recall seeing anyone studying in the store on the night of October 29. She noted that it was a relatively slow night, so she would have been aware if someone was in the store for a long time.
Jackson
Kendall Jackson
Cashier
When shown a photograph of Lizzie Miller, Ms. Jackson said she recognized Ms. Miller and had seen her in the store on a couple of occasions. However, she did not recall seeing Ms. Miller on October 29. Ms. Jackson said she didn't recall seeing anyone studying in the store that evening and was fairly sure that if Ms. Miller did come in, she didn't stay for a very long time.
