Elliott Owens interview

Friday, August 26, 2022 – 4:31 p.m.

Participants:

• Detective S. Murphy
• Detective E. Parker
• Elliott Owens

Detective Parker: Hi, Elliott. Nice to see you.

Elliott Owens: Nice to see the both of you too.

Detective Parker: Will you please state your name and address for the record?

Elliott Owens: I'm Elliott Owens. I live at 1264 Beanland Drive.

Detective Murphy: Hm, Elliott, you're still living with your parents.

Elliott Owens: Well, you know, I'm going to move out soon. I just have to save up a bit more.

Detective Murphy: Uh-huh. Okay, so you wanted to talk to us?

Elliott Owens: Yeah, I saw that missing person poster you put out, and I met the guy. I thought you might want to know.

Detective Parker: How did you meet him?

Elliott Owens: I was up at Wall Doxey State Park last Saturday. I was at the Marshall family reunion, and I happened to meet Oscar Knight.

Detective Murphy: Hang on. You're not a member of the Marshall family.

Elliott Owens: No, but I do some work for Steve, and he invited me. Steve Marshall

Detective Murphy: That's a long way to go for a reunion of a family you're not even related to.

Elliott Owens: Not really. It's about half an hour.

Detective Murphy: Okay, so you met Oscar Knight at this reunion?

Elliott Owens: I didn't know many people there. I saw him sitting by himself, and I assumed he didn't either. So I went and sat with him.

Detective Parker: What did you talk about?

Elliott Owens: Nothing at first. And he is a jerk if you want to know the truth. But you get a few drinks into him, he becomes a little more … talkative?

Detective Parker: What did he talk about?

Elliott Owens: He asked me who I was related to, and I said I wasn't. I said Steve invited me, but I wasn't related to anybody at the reunion.

Detective Parker: And what did he say about that?

Elliott Owens: He said he wasn't either, but he grew up with some of those people, and they didn't like him very much.

Detective Parker: Why was he there if even his old friends didn't like him?

Elliott Owens: He said he thought it'd be fun to catch up with them.

Detective Parker: Did he say why they didn't like him anymore?

Elliott Owens: Nope.

Detective Murphy: So did it seem to you that other people at the reunion didn't like him?

Elliott Owens: Oh, yeah. I saw him get into it with quite a few people there. One woman even slapped him.

Detective Murphy: Really? Do you know who it was?

Elliott Owens: Pauline Jones. I met her later. She seems like a nice lady to me.

Detective Murphy: So why did she slap him?

Elliott Owens: I couldn't hear everything that was being said but heard her say something like, "How dare you?" And she hauled off and smacked him hard, right across the face.

Detective Murphy: How did the people at the reunion react to that?

Elliott Owens: I don't think everybody saw, but those who were around seemed like they were on her side, trying to comfort her, patting her on the back.

Detective Murphy: And how did Oscar Knight react to being slapped?

Elliott Owens: He acted like it didn't bother him, and he just walked away.

Detective Parker: Did he argue with anyone else?

Elliott Owens: Oh, yeah. Then there's another lady, Liz Barton.

Detective Parker: Did she slap him too?

Elliott Owens: No, she said something like, "How dare you? I can't believe you would do this. You haven't changed at all. Why don't you just leave?"

Detective Parker: How did he respond to that?

Elliott Owens: He said something like, "Why would I leave if I'm having so much fun?" She didn't like that, though. She just turned and walked away.

Detective Murphy: Did he argue with Liz Barton before or after he argued with Pauline Jones?

Elliott Owens: Before. He argued with Pauline after Liz.

Detective Murphy: Did he argue with anybody else?

Elliott Owens: I did see him kind of arguing with Albert Plum from the hardware store. Just shoving. No punching or anything.

Detective Murphy: What was that about?

Elliott Owens: I wasn't anywhere near that to know what they were talking about.

Detective Murphy: Was that before or after he argued with the two ladies?

Elliott Owens: It was before.

Detective Parker: You said earlier that Oscar Knight was drinking. Would you say that he was drunk?

Elliott Owens: I mean, his speech wasn't slurring or anything, but I don't think he was feeling any pain.

Detective Parker: Did you have any sort of argument with him?

Elliott Owens: No. I just met him that day.

Detective Murphy: So what time did you get to the reunion?

Elliott Owens: About noon, maybe a little after.

Detective Murphy: Okay, and what time did you leave?

Elliott Owens: The party broke up about 9:00 p.m.

Detective Murphy: Was Oscar still there at that time?

Elliott Owens: No, he left hours earlier, I think.

Detective Murphy: Do you know what time he got there?

Elliott Owens: No. He was there before I was.

Detective Parker: Did you see him again after the reunion?

Elliott Owens: Nope, I went home after the reunion. The next day, he was missing. Isn't that what the poster said?

Detective Murphy: So, Elliott, can your parents corroborate what time you got home that night?

Elliott Owens: Yeah.

Detective Parker: Is there anything else that you saw at the reunion that you think would be useful to us?

Elliott Owens: I don't think so.

Detective Murphy: Are you sure? You have a history of not telling us everything the first time we talk with you.

Elliott Owens: Yeah. Yeah, I think so. I can't remember anything else.

Detective Murphy: I hope that's true, Elliott.

Elliott Owens: Oh, it is.

Detective Parker: Okay, Elliott. Thanks for coming in. It was helpful. If we have any more questions, we know how to contact you.

Elliott Owens: Right.

Interview ended – 4:58 p.m.