Stephen Lamoire interview #2

Wednesday, July 27, 2022 – 12:09 p.m.

Stephen Lamoire was Alyx Byrns' boyfriend until the day she died.

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

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Stephen Lamoire

Detective Armstrong: Name and address.

Stephen Lamoire: My name is Stephen Lamoire, and my address is 675 Foster Lane, Oxford.

Detective Murphy: Thank you.

Detective Armstrong: Tell us again about your visit to Alyx's house last Friday.

Stephen Lamoire: But I've already told you about that.

Detective Armstrong: Nothing you would like to clarify?

Stephen Lamoire: No, sir.

Detective Murphy: Were you driving your hot rod that day?

Stephen Lamoire: Oh. No, I was driving my dad's old truck. I had my hot rod in the side yard at home working on it. Why?

Detective Murphy: What color is your dad's truck?

Stephen Lamoire: Green. Why is that important?

Detective Armstrong: Did you enter the house by the front or the back door that leads to the kitchen?

Stephen Lamoire: I don't understand why you're asking me these things. I already told you I saw no one except the guy that was working on the landscaping.

Detective Murphy: Just answer the questions, or we're going to be here a long time. How did you enter the house?

Stephen Lamoire: Okay. Not in either of those doors. I went through the other back entrance. The one Alyx and I always used.

Detective Murphy: How did you get from that entryway to Alyx's bedroom without being seen?

Stephen Lamoire: Oh, I see. Well, Alyx always called that the secret entry. She loved it because she could avoid visiting with company or talking to the cook if she used that door. It bypassed the kitchen and living room, and even the den.

Detective Armstrong: You still had to go up the stairs. That stairway is in plain view.

Stephen Lamoire: That's what was so great about Alyx's secret doorway. It had another stairway that led to the main stairway about halfway up—high enough that we could use that, and no one could see us from below.

Detective Armstrong: But you still had to pass the pool, right?

Stephen Lamoire: Yes.

Detective Armstrong: You told us that you didn't see anyone that day when you went to pick up your things. Is that correct?

Stephen Lamoire: Well, no, sir. I was afraid to say that I saw Alyx. I knew you would accuse me of killing her, but I didn't even talk to her.

Detective Armstrong: What did you see, Stephen?

Stephen Lamoire: I saw her, but she was already dead.

Detective Murphy: How did you know she was dead?

Stephen Lamoire: She was in the raft, and I could see the knife in her hand and some blood in the water. I would have helped her, but she was gone. Gone.

Detective Murphy: Did you even check?

Stephen Lamoire: All I could think of was getting out of there.

Detective Armstrong: You were really angry with her.

Stephen Lamoire: Yes, I was mad, and I wanted to tell her that face to face and not on the phone, but she was dead.

Detective Armstrong: Did you murder her right there by the pool?

Stephen Lamoire: I didn't kill her. I swear I did not kill her!

Detective Armstrong: Or maybe you carried her to the pool after a confrontation in her bedroom. You know, down that secret stairway?

Stephen Lamoire: No! I was in love with her.

Detective Armstrong: Why were you in her house, Stephen?

Stephen Lamoire: To get my things.

Detective Murphy: Did you see anyone else while you were there?

Stephen Lamoire: No. No one.

Detective Murphy: What did you take from Alyx's room?

Stephen Lamoire: I told you last time.

Detective Armstrong: Tell us again, please.

Stephen Lamoire: Some clothes, a toothbrush, an electric shaver, and a leather jacket.

Detective Armstrong: That was all?

Stephen Lamoire: Yes.

Detective Armstrong: Nothing else?

Stephen Lamoire: No. Nothing else.

Detective Armstrong: Well, that is odd because when we executed a search warrant at your house this morning, we found something else.

Stephen Lamoire: Oh. What did you find?

Detective Murphy: A suicide note. Written by Alyx. How did it end up among your personal belongings?

Stephen Lamoire: Look. That wasn't real. It was a joke.

Detective Murphy: You have a morbid sense of humor if you think it was a joke.

Stephen Lamoire: It was old. She wrote it a while ago.

Detective Murphy: How long is "a while ago?"

Stephen Lamoire: Sometime in April? I'm not really sure exactly.

Detective Murphy: Was Alyx suicidal?

Stephen Lamoire: No.

Detective Murphy: You're sure about that?

Stephen Lamoire: Yes, I'm telling you she wrote it as a joke.

Detective Murphy: Alyx implicates you in that note. Still find it funny?

Stephen Lamoire: No, I never found it funny! She used it when she faked her suicide. Scared the hell out of me.

Detective Armstrong: Alyx faked her death?

Stephen Lamoire: Yes, sir.

Detective Murphy: And this was the note she left at that time?

Stephen Lamoire: Yes, ma'am.

Detective Murphy: Can anyone else corroborate that information?

Stephen Lamoire: Katie. She helped Alyx do it.

Detective Murphy: And it was a prank?

Stephen Lamoire: Yes, ma'am. Alyx and Katie thought it was hilarious. Not me. I totally believed it. Started crying. Alyx called me a wimp and wouldn't talk to me for three days.

Detective Murphy: How did the note end up in your possession?

Stephen Lamoire: I saw it on Alyx's bed when I went to get my stuff. On the pillow. I knew something was wrong. I panicked, and I took it.

Detective Murphy: Other than Alyx's dead body in the swimming pool, what else was wrong?

Stephen Lamoire: Her bed was made.

Detective Armstrong: And?

Stephen Lamoire: Alyx never made her bed. It was always a torn-up mess with a pile of clothes on it.

Detective Murphy: Where would Alyx have kept this note?

Stephen Lamoire: I have no idea. I didn't even know she had kept it.

Detective Armstrong: Who might have known?

Stephen Lamoire: Probably Katie. She knew about everything. Alyx shared everything with her. Embarrassing things.

Detective Armstrong: What kind of embarrassing things?

Stephen Lamoire: Sexual things. How good I was at certain things.

Detective Armstrong: Did Alyx tell you that she shared those things with Katie?

Stephen Lamoire: No. Katie told me. And she's been after me to… do some of those things—with her.

Detective Armstrong: Recently?

Stephen Lamoire: Yes, sir. Since Alyx died.

Detective Murphy: How have you responded?

Stephen Lamoire: At first, she said we needed to comfort each other. That was fine. But now she's making other suggestions. I mean, I like Katie, but I loved Alyx, and I swear to you I did not kill her.

Detective Armstrong: You haven't been entirely truthful, though, have you?

Stephen Lamoire: No, sir. I apologize. I knew it would look bad, so I lied. I haven't given you any reason to believe me, but I loved Alyx. I never would've hurt her. Ever.

Detective Armstrong: Have you told us the truth about everything now? Or are we going to find out about even more lies?

Stephen Lamoire: No, sir. I've told you everything. I swear!

Detective Armstrong: I hope that's true. You're free to go for now, but you stay where we can find you. Understand?

Stephen Lamoire: Yes, sir. Thank you.

Interview ended – 12:52 p.m.