Bryan Mortimer interview

Tuesday, March 14, 2023 – 4:01 p.m.

Bryan Mortimer is a local attorney and Whitehall resident.

Detectives Armstrong and Murphy talked to him at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department to follow up on Shannon Bower's claim that she visited him after the HOA meeting before going home.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Bryan Mortimer

Detective Armstrong: Good afternoon, Mr. Mortimer. Thank you for coming in.

Bryan Mortimer: You're welcome, detective. I was in court earlier, so it was right on my way.

Detective Murphy: Before we start, would you please state your name and address for the record?

Bryan Mortimer: Sure. I'm Bryan Mortimer, and I live at 302 Baker Drive in Whitehall.

Detective Armstrong: Can you tell us if you saw Shannon Bower at any time on March 5th?

Bryan Mortimer: Oh, that's what this is about. That was the night Ambrose Garrett died, wasn't it?

Detective Murphy: Yes, that's right. Did you see Ms. Bower at any time on that date?

Bryan Mortimer: Yes, Shannon stopped at my house on her way home from the HOA meeting.

Detective Armstrong: You didn't go to the meeting?

Bryan Mortimer: No. I took my mother to an early dinner and stayed and visited for a while. I got home after 6:00 p.m. and decided to skip the meeting. They're a bit hard to take anyway.

Detective Murphy: What time did Ms. Bower stop at your house?

Bryan Mortimer: She got there near 7:00 p.m. if I remember correctly. Yes, I remember being surprised that the meeting was over early, but she said she had left early because she got so angry at Ambrose and his website idea. She was incensed that he wanted to publish the names of people who had been fined for some infringement of his rules, and she wanted to know if he could do that legally. She thought it was an invasion of privacy.

Detective Armstrong: How long did she stay?

Bryan Mortimer: Not very long. She said Marti expected her at 7:30 p.m. for dinner, and she didn't want to be late. She asked me not to mention to anyone she'd been to see me. Marti has a tendency to be a bit jealous, I guess.

Detective Murphy: Can you be a bit more specific, Mr. Mortimer? What time did she leave?

Bryan Mortimer: No, detective, I can't be more specific. I would guess she didn't stay past 7:20 or 7:25 p.m. since she needed to be home at 7:30 p.m. She didn't even sit down. She was very agitated and paced the floor while we talked. Our conversation was short, and I told her I would research her concern and call her in a couple of days.

Detective Armstrong: Did she talk about doing anything to stop Mr. Garrett from moving forward with his plan?

Bryan Mortimer: Shannon? She raves and rants, but she'd never hurt anyone. She's really a good soul, just a bit more spirited than a lot of people. I think she sort of enjoyed the confrontations with Garrett. Relieved the stress or something.

Detective Armstrong: Do you think she was agitated enough that night to tamper with Mr. Garrett's drink?

Bryan Mortimer: I've seen her angry but never violent or even vindictive. Stubborn, that's for sure, but I can't imagine her doing anything to actually harm Garrett. She certainly wasn't the only one in the neighborhood who thought he overstepped his authority as HOA president. Have you talked to Julie Arbuckle or some of the others?

Detective Murphy: Yes, thank you, Mr. Mortimer.

Bryan Mortimer: Well, if there's nothing else I can help you with, I've got motions to finalize so I can file them in the morning.

Detective Armstrong: Thank you for coming in, Mr. Mortimer.

Interview ended – 4:17 p.m.