Rosalie Hansen interview

Sunday, January 10, 2021 – 10:59 p.m.

Rosalie Hansen stopped by the Kangaroo Express to use the restroom when she and the store clerk found a young woman's body.

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

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Rosalie Hansen

Detective Murphy: Mrs. Hansen, I'm Detective Murphy, and this is Detective Armstrong. We're sorry. We know this is difficult, and we know you need to get home to your son, but we need to ask you some questions. Please take a seat. We'll try to make this as quick as we can. For the record, we need your name and address.

Rosalie Hansen: My name is Rosalie Hansen, and I live at 722 Shady Oaks Circle. Please call me Rosalie. I'm so nervous. I can't stop thinking about that poor girl. It was awful.

Detective Murphy: Rosalie, can you tell us what happened when you arrived at the convenience store?

Rosalie Hansen: I had to use the bathroom, and I didn't think I could make it home, so I stopped at the Kangaroo Express. There was an "out of order" sign on the ladies' room door, but I didn't care. I had to go. I tried to open the door, but it was locked.

Detective Murphy: Then what did you do?

Rosalie Hansen: I went and asked the clerk for the key. I asked him if it was okay to use it since there was an "out of order" sign on the door.

Detective Murphy: What did he say?

Rosalie Hansen: He looked puzzled and said he didn't know what I was talking about. He walked with me back to the bathroom, and when he saw the sign, he pulled it off the door and said he didn't put it there. He said someone must have done it as a prank, but he didn't think it was funny.

Detective Murphy: What did you do next?

Rosalie Hansen: He told me to wait there, and he would get the key and unlock the door. He went in the back and came back a couple minutes later. He put the key in and opened the door, and I followed him in. That's when I saw that poor girl lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

Detective Murphy: What did you do when you saw her?

Rosalie Hansen: It seemed so surreal. I heard someone screaming and realized it was me. I ran out the door, and I stood frozen. I couldn't move, but I couldn't stop looking. I was terrified that the person that did this might still be around. Oh my! I think I'm going to be sick.

Detective Armstrong: Calm down, Rosalie. It's going to be okay. Detective Murphy and I aren't going to let anyone hurt you. Do you need a break? Can we get you anything?

Rosalie Hansen: Some water would be good. Just give me a few minutes. I can't get the image out of my head. It was so awful.

[PAUSE]

Detective Murphy: Here's the water. Please take all the time you need. Continue when you're ready.

Rosalie Hansen: I think I'm okay now. As I said, she was lying in blood. There was a lot of blood, and her eyes were open. It was strange. There were all these small candles lit, and they were in the shape of a cross. What kind of a sicko does this to someone?

Detective Armstrong: When you came out of the bathroom, where was the clerk?

Rosalie Hansen: He was inside the bathroom, staring at the girl. I'm sure he was in shock too. When I screamed, he came out behind me. He said he had seen this girl before but didn't know her. She came to use the bathroom, but he didn't remember that she was wearing skates.

Detective Murphy: What happened next?

Detective Armstrong: Did you see anyone else in the convenience store or outside?

Rosalie Hansen: I didn't see anyone, but I wasn't paying attention to anyone else.

Detective Armstrong: Did you see or hear anything unusual as you arrived?

Rosalie Hansen: I'm not sure if it has anything to do with this, but when I was driving there, a couple of blocks from the store, a car sped past me. I only noticed it because the man was going so fast. He had to be over the speed limit. I thought to myself, he must be in a hurry.

Detective Armstrong: Rosalie, you said it was a man. Did you get a good look at him or the make of the car?

Rosalie Hansen: I'm sorry. I didn't. I know he had dark hair, but that's all I saw. I really didn't pay too much attention to the car. Do you think that person could be the killer?

Detective Armstrong: We don't know who the killer is at this point. We take all the information we get and check out all possible leads.

Detective Murphy: Thank you, Rosalie. If there's anything else you can think of, no matter if you think it's not important, please call us.

Rosalie Hansen: Oh, I will. I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight after all this. 

Detective Murphy: What you went through tonight would be a terrifying experience for anyone. If you do have trouble sleeping or you have a hard time thinking about anything else, we know some excellent counselors who can help you with that. Just give me a call, and I can give you some names. Here's my card.

Rosalie Hansen: Thank you. I hope I can just forget all about it, but I'll call you if I need to.

Detective Murphy: Please do. We'll be in touch if we need anything else. You can go home to your son now.

Interview ended – 11:25 p.m.