Lindsey Snyder interview

Thursday, January 4, 2024 – 9:15 a.m.

Lindsey Snyder's husband, Max, organized the Elvis conference in Oxford with her help.

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

Participants:

• Detective S. Murphy
• Detective E. Parker
• Lindsey Snyder

Detective Murphy: Good morning, Mrs. Snyder. Thank you for coming in. This won't take long.

Lindsey Snyder: Yes, detective. I hope we can finish soon. I've been running around trying to fix everything after that dreadful Jared died. It's made such a mess of things.

Detective Murphy: Before we get into that, would you state your name and address for the record?

Lindsey Snyder: I'm sorry. Yes, I'm Lindsey Snyder. 2216 Church Street.

Detective Murphy: Thank you.

Detective Parker: So you had problems with Jared Plunk before he died?

Lindsey Snyder: How much time do you have? The man has been nothing but a royal pain. He came to us under false pretenses. He convinced us—my husband and I—to book him for the conference as a featured speaker based on the classes he did on Elvis' impact on social history. We liked that. He shared some of his research. It was real interesting. Then, a few weeks later, he changed.

Detective Parker: How so?

Lindsey Snyder: He started calling us day and night, insisting that we change the conference around and make him the keynote speaker. We told him everything was already set up with another speaker. He said he'd uncovered new evidence that would make our conference an event that wouldn't be forgotten.

Detective Murphy: Did Mr. Plunk say what this new evidence was?

Lindsey Snyder: I asked him several times, but he wouldn't tell me. I told him we couldn't change the event schedule at the last minute, especially if he wouldn't even tell us what he was going to talk about. He was almost hysterical. He kept telling me that I had no choice. He was starting to make me nervous.

Detective Parker: Why didn't you cancel his speech?

Lindsey Snyder: I couldn't. We took out loans. I borrowed money from my parents. I had to make the conference work. He was getting so pushy, making all these demands. All he kept saying was that he was going to blow the lid off the Elvis myth, that everyone would know his name. I tried to calm him down, get him to reconsider, but he wouldn't listen. He laughed and said I had no choice but to go along.

Detective Parker: How did that hit you?

Lindsey Snyder: I was starting to get worried. I thought he was having a nervous breakdown, which could ruin us. We have everything riding on this.

Detective Parker: That gave you a good reason to kill him.

Lindsey Snyder: Me? You're kidding, right? Ask anyone, and they'll tell you. I am not the fighting type, detective. I don't like arguments or violence. Besides, he was promoting his appearance at our conference all over the Internet, which got us quite a few registrations. So it turned out he was right.

Detective Parker: Right how?

Lindsey Snyder: I had to make him the keynote speaker. He made it clear that he was speaking here. The phone was ringing off the hook. I switched Sonya to one of the other speaker time slots and made Jared the keynote. Tickets were selling like hotcakes, better than I anticipated. So why would I want him dead?

Detective Parker: And how did your husband take all this?

Lindsey Snyder: Max? He was angry at how Jared was acting, like some prima donna, but I told him it was to be expected because that was just Jared being Jared. We both knew he was a difficult man. And Max knew I was right. Besides, we were too busy rearranging things to think of much else. Then Jared turned up dead.

Detective Murphy: Where were you when Mr. Plunk was murdered?

Lindsey Snyder: At home.

Detective Murphy: Can anyone corroborate that?

Lindsey Snyder: Just my husband.

Detective Parker: Do you know of anyone else who might have wanted to hurt Mr. Plunk?

Lindsey Snyder: I don't know. He was positively infuriating, but enough to make someone kill him? I don't know. I just know it wasn't me. Or Max.

Detective Murphy: Okay, Mrs. Snyder, that's all we have for you right now. We may have more questions for you as the investigation progresses.

Lindsey Snyder: I understand, detective. By the way, did you find those letters? Maybe we can at least publish them, try to salvage the conference's reputation.

Detective Murphy: I'm sorry, Mrs. Snyder, but we can't discuss evidence in an ongoing investigation. Thank you for coming in.

Interview ended – 9:33 a.m.