Marc Huddleston interview #2

Wednesday, November 4, 2020 – 12:30 p.m.

Marc Huddleston is a member of the archery team and the boyfriend of the victim's daughter. 

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

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Marc Huddleston

Detective Murphy: Okay, Marc, please state your name and address.

Marc Huddleston: Marc Huddleston. 168 Orrwood Drive.

Detective Murphy: We brought you in because we still have some questions about your whereabouts on the night of October 29.

Marc Huddleston: I told you, I was at the skate park with Lizzie.

Detective Murphy: Well, we haven't been able to confirm that, and we have some reason to believe that you may have, in fact, been at the church that evening.

Marc Huddleston: Well, I wasn't!

Detective Armstrong: Tell us again when you noticed that that pin of yours went missing.

Marc Huddleston: What? My archery pin? What does that have to with anything?

Detective Armstrong: Just answer the question.

Marc Huddleston: I noticed it was missing last week sometime.

Detective Murphy: What day was that?

Marc Huddleston: Um, well, I noticed it when I was getting my jacket and backpack after archery practice, so it must've been on Monday.

Detective Armstrong: Do you not have archery practice any other days?

Marc Huddleston: No, we do. We have archery practice on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Detective Armstrong: How come you're so sure it wasn't after Wednesday's practice when you noticed the pin was missing?

Marc Huddleston: I don't know. It could've been Wednesday, I guess.

Detective Murphy: So you think you noticed it was missing on Monday, the same day that Mr. Miller confronted you in the parking lot?

Marc Huddleston: Yeah, I guess.

Detective Murphy: Tell us again what that was about, the confrontation between you and Mr. Miller.

Marc Huddleston: He got mad at me because he saw me trying to talk to Lizzie during practice.

Detective Murphy: And how did you react?

Marc Huddleston: I just listened and apologized.

Detective Murphy: You didn't get mad?

Marc Huddleston: No.

Detective Murphy: Last time we spoke, you described your reaction a bit differently. So now you're saying that you didn't say anything back to him? You just listened quietly and apologized?

Marc Huddleston: Well, I did say things to him, but I wasn't really mad. I was just annoyed.

Detective Murphy: What did you say to him?

Marc Huddleston: Something like how he couldn't prevent me from trying to talk to Lizzie. And I just said "okay," "yeah," stuff like that.

Detective Armstrong: See, we heard the story a little differently. Did you know that other people saw that confrontation between you and Mr. Miller?

Marc Huddleston: Oh. No, I didn't know that. But that's what happened, so I don't know what you heard.

Detective Murphy: We heard that you reacted more strongly than how you're describing it. That you were pretty angry, in fact.

Marc Huddleston: No. I mean, I guess I was kind of angry, but I didn't really argue with him or anything. Except for saying that one thing about how he can't control who I talk to. But other than that, I just listened and said I wouldn't do it again because I just wanted to get away from him.

Detective Armstrong: So when you finally did get away from him, I bet you were thinking how great it would be if you could get away from him for good. Did that cross your mind?

Marc Huddleston: What? No! I wasn't thinking about killing him if that's what you're saying!

Detective Armstrong: The thought never crossed your mind? You never wished that Mr. Miller wasn't around to prevent you and Lizzie from seeing each other?

Marc Huddleston: Well, I never wished he was dead!

Detective Murphy: All right, Marc. It's just weird because that archery pin of yours was found at the church on the night Mr. Miller was murdered.

Marc Huddleston: What? Well, I told you I lost it. I don't know how it got there, but I didn't bring it there.

Detective Armstrong: How are you doing in school? Keeping your grades up?

Marc Huddleston: Yeah, my grades are fine.

Detective Armstrong: You have to maintain your GPA to stay on the archery team, right?

Marc Huddleston: Yeah.

Detective Armstrong: That sounds like a lot of pressure, especially for the highest-ranked member in the district. Do you ever have to get a leg up on exams? Say, get ahold of the test answers ahead of time?

Marc Huddleston: No.

Detective Murphy: Did Mr. Miller ever suspect you of cheating in his class?

Marc Huddleston: I— I don't know, maybe. I don't think so. He always kept a close eye on me, but that was just because he hated me.

Detective Murphy: Well, we know he suspected that one of his students was cheating. But you're saying that couldn't have been you?

Marc Huddleston: No! I never cheated. I'll show you. I have some graded tests in my backpack right here, see?

Detective Armstrong: How does this prove that you didn't cheat?

Marc Huddleston: I don't know. I just— I got good grades on them, and you can see if you read my answers that I understand it.

Detective Armstrong: Well, we're not professional educators, Marc. But if you're not the student that Mr. Miller suspected, who do you think it was?

Marc Huddleston: I really don't know. I don't know about any cheating.

Detective Murphy: It was probably someone on the archery team. Anyone you can think of that might be struggling to keep up their GPA?

Marc Huddleston: Um, a few of the archery kids struggle with their grades. Scott has had some trouble, but he definitely wouldn't cheat, and he's been doing a lot better this year.

Detective Murphy: What's Scott's last name?

Marc Huddleston: Rice.

Detective Murphy: He's a pretty good friend of yours, right?

Marc Huddleston: Yeah, we're good friends, but I'm not covering up for him or something. I just really don't think he would cheat.

Detective Murphy: Anyone else?

Marc Huddleston: I don't know. Jimmy Bragg, maybe. He's always worried about his mom flipping out if he doesn't have perfect grades. And Chris Matthews skips school a lot, so he's probably not doing very good.

Detective Armstrong: What was that nickname of yours again? Something about archery?

Marc Huddleston: It's "Ten."

Detective Armstrong: Yeah, "Ten." You carve that nickname into your arrows, right?

Marc Huddleston: Oh, yeah. Only my bowhunting arrows because they're really expensive, and I don't want to lose track of them.

Detective Armstrong: The arrow that killed Mr. Miller had your nickname carved into it. How do you explain that?

Marc Huddleston: What? I guess someone must've stolen it.

Detective Armstrong: But you never noticed it was missing? These expensive arrows that you value so much that you carve your name into them? You wouldn't notice if one was stolen?

Marc Huddleston: I do value them, but I don't count them every day or something. I probably would have noticed soon.

Detective Murphy: Where do you store these bowhunting arrows?

Marc Huddleston: At my house, usually.

Detective Armstrong: So someone broke into your house to steal one of your arrows?

Marc Huddleston: Maybe. Well, no, the arrows have been in my car since a couple weeks ago.

Detective Armstrong: Why have they been in your car?

Marc Huddleston: Me and some buddies were doing target practice out in the woods, and I just haven't bothered to bring them inside.

Detective Armstrong: So someone broke into that new Jeep of yours? The one with the state-of-the-art security system?

Marc Huddleston: I guess so. I might've left it unlocked or something.

Detective Armstrong: Do you do that often? Even when you keep valuable things in your car?

Marc Huddleston: Sometimes, yeah. I just forget.

Detective Murphy: If we checked the arrow for fingerprints, whose do you think we would find?

Marc Huddleston: Well, mine probably. And any of my friends or my dad since we go hunting together. Even other kids on the archery team have checked out my arrows before, but I don't know how long fingerprints last.

Detective Murphy: You see, Marc, why all of this doesn't look good for you, right?

Marc Huddleston: Yeah, but I didn't do it. I would never kill someone!

Detective Murphy: Look, Marc. I'm gonna level with you. We have a lot of evidence indicating that you were the one that did this. Your pin was found at the scene. You have a strong motive given your relationship with Lizzie. And frankly, there aren't many people that are capable of pulling off that shot. To top it all off, it was your arrow that was used to kill Mr. Miller.

Marc Huddleston: But I didn't do anything! Someone must just be trying to get me sent to prison.

Detective Armstrong: And why would someone want to do that?

Marc Huddleston: I don't know. They're jealous probably. Some of the kids on the archery team hate me because I'm the best. And Jesse Kipner has a thing for Lizzie, so he probably thought he could get her if I wasn't around. One of them must've done it!

Detective Armstrong: Well, the evidence indicates otherwise. We're going to have to detain you while we continue to investigate.

Detective Murphy: Is there anything else that you want to tell us right now? If you're hiding something, it's best to come clean sooner rather than later.

Marc Huddleston: I'm not hiding anything! I've already told you I had nothing to do with this.

Detective Armstrong: All right, Marc. Let's go.

Interview ended – 1:01 p.m.