Patsy Vance interview

Thursday, October 26, 2023 – 9:30 a.m.

Patsy Vance is married to Preston Vance, a COP member, and is Jessilee Vance's mother.

Detectives Beckwith and Magee talked with her at her residence.

Participants

• Detective P. Beckwith
• Detective J. Magee
• Patsy Vance

Detective Magee: Mrs. Vance. I'm Detective Jo Magee, and this is my partner, Detective Paul Beckwith.

Patsy Vance: What did you want to talk to my husband about?

Detective Beckwith: That's between your husband and us. We have some questions for you.

Patsy Vance: You do? But I don't know anything.

Detective Magee: You don't even know what we're going to ask.

Patsy Vance: Still, I'm a housewife. I go to the church and to Kroger. I stay out of people's business. I doubt I have anything to say that would help you in any investigation.

Detective Beckwith: If it's all the same with you, Mrs. Vance, we'd like to ask you a few questions anyway.

Patsy Vance: All right.

Detective Magee: The first question is easy. What is your full name and address?

Patsy Vance: Patsy Vance. My maiden name is Huff. I live with my family here at 781 Shady Oaks Circle, Oxford.

Detective Magee: Let's start with you and your husband's connection to the Concerned Oxford Parents group.

Patsy Vance: Preston and I are COP members. It's important to protect young people from inappropriate influences, and COP works to eliminate those influences. I'm proud to be in COP.

Detective Magee: Have you talked with Hoyt Biffle on the phone or in person?

Patsy Vance: Heavens, no. I don't know what I'd say to him if I did. I leave it to my husband to be confrontational in these matters.

Detective Magee: Do you accompany your husband at COP protest events like the ones he routinely participated in at Under Glass?

Patsy Vance: No. He doesn't think protests are an appropriate place for me.

Detective Beckwith: Why?

Patsy Vance: He has told me that some of the protests he's had to attend have had alarming amounts of lurid activities.

Detective Beckwith: Like?

Patsy Vance: Like half-naked college students who take the Lord's name in vain when swearing at the good COP people or the nasty women who jeer at our COP people moments after they've had so-called doctors pull their babies out of them piece by piece at the abortion clinics. No, Preston's right. The protests aren't a place for me.

Detective Beckwith: From your point of view, you have as much of a problem with the partial nudity of college students as you do abortions?

Patsy Vance: It's all against God's law. If you're not married to the person, seeing them naked is a no-no.

Detective Magee: But Preston himself went to all of these protests. He's looking at all these girls.

Patsy Vance: No, he's not looking at them. He's trying to stop them from sinning. They don't need to be naked or have abortions. He's going into the lion's den to try to get God's word to these sinners. Maybe save some of them.

Detective Beckwith: Is that what he was doing at the Under Glass protest? Trying to save those housemates.

Patsy Vance: Yes. I think if the ladies who live there just kept their clothes on, things would be fine. I've seen reality shows on TV where the people are fully clothed, and those shows are very successful, so Under Glass can go that route.

Detective Magee: So that's how you justify your own daughter joining Under Glass as a housemate?

Patsy Vance: You know about that?

Detective Beckwith: We just talked to her yesterday.

Patsy Vance: She isn't taking her clothes off for the camera. She is different than the other girls there. She promised me that no boys would be living at the house, so no one would see her immodestly.

Detective Beckwith: I highly doubt that. The Under Glass house is loaded with cameras.

Patsy Vance: I trust Jess. If she says she's taken steps to avoid the cameras when undressed, I believe her. She said Mr. Biffle promised he'd pay for her tuition this semester if she joined the housemates and she didn't have to take her clothes off in front of the cameras.

Detective Beckwith: Did he really?

Patsy Vance: Jess said maybe she could convince Mr. Biffle to keep cameras out of the bedrooms and bathrooms. I know Jess. Whenever she puts her mind to something, it gets done.

Detective Magee: So you really believed your daughter was going to convince Mr. Biffle to take the nudity out of Under Glass?

Patsy Vance: I never underestimate my children. They are superstars. 

Detective Magee: Did you or your husband ever visit the Under Glass website to check on your daughter?

Patsy Vance: Never. Preston would never break his vows to me and God to ogle naked young hussies. And I told you, I trust Jess. She will stay on the straight and narrow.

Detective Magee: So, your husband was on board with your daughter's attempt to reform Under Glass from the inside?

Patsy Vance: Heavens, no. You're not going to tell him, are you?

Detective Beckwith: Why? Would that be a problem?

Patsy Vance: Yes, of course it would! Preston would freak out if he knew Jess was living at Under Glass. He wouldn't be able to trust Jess like I do.

Detective Beckwith: Why?

Patsy Vance: Because he thinks women are more susceptible to temptation than men. Genesis 3:6. Do you read the Bible, Detective Beckwith? 

Detective Beckwith: Probably not as much as I should...

Patsy Vance: Well, I'm sure you know the Genesis story. Woman is the first who was tempted, leading to humanity's fall. Preston could never let Jess go into that situation and be tempted. I believe in her, though. She won't get naked for the cameras. She wouldn't. And we need the money for her tuition. 

Detective Magee: Wouldn't Preston notice that Jessilee's tuition is "magically" paid for?

Patsy Vance: No. We told him that Jess was involved in a work-study program. Preston didn't want Jess to get a job, but work-study was fine with him because it was school-related.

Detective Magee: So you lied to him?

Patsy Vance: Not really. Sometimes, we protect Preston from the truth because the truth would only upset him unnecessarily. But, please, don't tell him. Now that Mr. Biffle is dead, Under Glass is going to get shut down permanently, and none of this will matter.

Detective Magee: And Jessilee's tuition still got paid.

Patsy Vance: Preston doesn't need to know. He doesn't.

Detective Magee: How do you know that Preston didn't already find out that Jessilee was at Under Glass?

Patsy Vance: Because I would text her when Preston told me COP was protesting there. Jess was careful not to let her dad see her.

Detective Magee: Did she ever have any close calls because she missed one of your texts?

Patsy Vance: No, she hasn't been at Under Glass that long, and, to be honest, I think we were both pretty over-cautious because we wanted to make sure that tuition bill got paid.

Detective Beckwith: How do you think Preston would react if he did find out that Jessilee was living at Under Glass?

Patsy Vance: That's not something we'll ever have to worry about now.

Detective Beckwith: Yes. Conveniently. Last Wednesday, where was your husband?

Patsy Vance: He went to work as usual.

Detective Magee: What about after work?

Patsy Vance: He came home and then went to the COP protest.

Detective Magee: When did he come home from work?

Patsy Vance: I think a little after 4:00 p.m., that's when he usually gets home.

Detective Beckwith: When did he leave for the protest?

Patsy Vance: 5:00 p.m.?

Detective Beckwith: Did you let Jessilee know COP was protesting that day?

Patsy Vance: Yes. That afternoon. She texted back that she was in the library at the time.

Detective Magee: Did Jessilee ever text whether she saw her father at the protest that night?

Patsy Vance: No.

Detective Beckwith: All right, Mrs. Vance, we have some more interviews to do, and we intend on speaking to you again.

Patsy Vance: And you promise not to tell Preston about Jessilee and Mr. Biffle, right?

Detective Magee: We can't promise anything, Mrs. Vance, but we won't mention it unless we have to.

Interview ended – 9:56 a.m.