Ben Morgan interview #2

Thursday, October 26, 2023 – 5:30 p.m.

Ben Morgan is president of the Concerned Oxford Parents.

Detectives Beckwith and Magee spoke to him again at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department

Participants:

• Detective P. Beckwith
• Detective J. Magee
• Ben Morgan

Detective Magee: Thank you for coming in today, Mr. Morgan. Have a seat.

Ben Morgan: I hope this isn't going to take as long as the last time y'all wanted to ask me questions because I'll get up and leave.

Detective Magee: No. This will be a short interview, without a doubt.

Ben Morgan: Fine. I'm going to hold you to that.

Detective Magee: First, would you give us your full name and address for the record?

Ben Morgan: Ben Morgan. I live at 213 Washington Avenue, Oxford.

Detective Beckwith: Okay, let's talk about your relationship with Preston Vance. How long have you known each other?

Ben Morgan: Preston? A couple years, I guess. He and his wife Patsy joined COP, I'd say, in 2019 or so because some doctrinaire educator at Yoknapatawpha High School tried to take out the abstinence-only sex education curriculum there. We fought hard on that one, but in the end, we had to agree to a compromise. I haven't a clue why you'd send a kid to Yoknapatawpha High and have them brainwashed that way. It's akin to child abuse.

Detective Beckwith: Has Vance fought for all the COP causes since then?

Ben Morgan: As far as I can remember. He's been a stalwart supporter, God-fearing and true since the beginning. 

Detective Magee: What was Vance's relationship with Hoyt Biffle?

Ben Morgan: Y'all would describe it as acrimonious, I suppose. But what can a person expect? Biffle was targeting young, corruptible women for sexual exploitation on the internet. How could any normal individual not be vehemently opposed to that sort of behavior? Preston was more demonstrative in his displeasure, sure. But was it out-of-bounds, given the circumstances? Not in the least. 

Detective Beckwith: Define "demonstrative in his displeasure."

Ben Morgan: Meaning that Preston would get up in Biffle's face more than the other COP members. Preston used more quotes from Revelation than the other members. He can be intimidating. That may sound threatening to you, but it was effective in moving people toward God, and that's what counts.

Detective Magee: The ends justify the means?

Ben Morgan: In this case, sure.

Detective Beckwith: Did Vance ever threaten to kill Biffle?

Ben Morgan: No. No COP members would do anything like that.

Detective Magee: Did you ever see Vance threaten any Under Glass housemates like Violet Lamb or Mackenzie Collins?

Ben Morgan: Not directly. He wasn't threatening any of the housemates. I did see him imploring them to change their sinful ways.

Detective Beckwith: Did this "imploring" include blackmail?

Ben Morgan: Blackmail? No. COP members don't fight evil with evil. We stay on the righteous side of the ledger.

Detective Magee: What if we told you that some of the housemates have accused Vance of blackmail?

Ben Morgan: The word of the housemates is highly questionable. They'll do just about anything to maintain their sinful ways. If it's a he said–she said sort of thing, I'd trust what Preston had to say.

Detective Beckwith: What if Vance was blackmailing a housemate to get her to leave so his daughter could take her place in the Under Glass house?

Ben Morgan: Don't be ridiculous— Wait, that's a hypothetical, isn't it?

Detective Beckwith: Nope. His daughter Jessilee is working there now, strutting herself for the cameras.

Ben Morgan: And Vance knows about this?

Detective Magee: How could he not?

Ben Morgan: The nerve of that guy. You know, come to think of it, I have always thought Vance was pretty suspicious.  

Detective Beckwith: What do you mean?

Ben Morgan: Well, when it comes to Under Glass, he always seemed to have inside information like the housemate's schedules, which rooms each of them were living in, and what they did in their spare time.

Detective Magee: That didn't strike you as odd from the beginning?

Ben Morgan: Absolutely. Vance also knew all of the girls' backgrounds and habits but never cared as much about the guys at Under Glass. He was like a stalker! Yes. Even his quotes from Revelation were oftentimes self-serving. 

Detective Beckwith: Yet he's still a COP member.

Ben Morgan: Not as of this very minute. He's an apostate, and as COP President, I will have him removed. Y'all have to know that Vance and his wife have always been fringe members. Now that it's established they were always pretenders from the get-go, know that COP has nothing to do with them.

Detective Magee: That seems awfully convenient. Since you were COP President, how could Vance do all these things right under your nose?

Ben Morgan: Vance was crafty. I trusted that he had pure motives. But as they say, the best trick Satan ever pulled was to convince people he doesn't exist. I'll admit, I should have been more vigilant, but now that my eyes have been opened to Vance's evil nature, I will take swift action to remove him from our midst.

Detective Beckwith: And you don't think your inaction allowed Vance to torment these women?

Ben Morgan: Just because we missed early on that Vance is an unrepentant sinner doesn't excuse these women's actions. We were at the protests, detectives. We saw their sins.

Detective Magee: So you're saying that you never noticed Vance's daughter coming or going during all the times you protested Under Glass.

Ben Morgan: Look, I don't even know her. Vance never allowed his children at a protest, so I don't know her name or what she even looks like.

Detective Magee: And no other COP member noticed her?

Ben Morgan: I don't know. Maybe the girl avoided us whenever we were around to keep her father's demonic plan secret. That Vance is sick. Sick!

Detective Beckwith: All right, I think we're done here, Mr. Morgan.

Ben Morgan: Oh, well, that was a short interview, as promised. I'm so glad I could be so helpful in your investigations.

Detective Beckwith: Good day, Mr. Morgan.

Interview ended – 5:47 p.m.