Rick Crawford interview #2

Thursday, September 7, 2023 – 8:30 a.m.

Rick Crawford is the manager of the Rebel Inn motel.

Detectives Armstrong and Murphy re-interviewed him in his office at the Rebel Inn.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Rick Crawford

Detective Murphy: Thanks for seeing us on such short notice, Rick. We appreciate it.

Rick Crawford: No problem at all. What can I do for you?

Detective Murphy: First, we need you to state your name and address for the record.

Rick Crawford: Of course. I'm Rick Crawford. I live at 2133 South Lamar Boulevard.

Detective Murphy: We'd like to talk about some of those records we collected from you the other day. Specifically, we're interested in the personnel files.

Rick Crawford: Okay. Whose file do you want to talk about?

Detective Armstrong: Weldon Foyle.

Rick Crawford: Weldon is one of my best employees. Has he done something wrong? Is he involved with that professor's death?

Detective Armstrong: He had this reprimand in his file.

Rick Crawford: Let me see. Oh, yes. That.

Detective Armstrong: Yes, that.

Rick Crawford: It wasn't a big deal, really.

Detective Armstrong: You wrote him up for it.

Rick Crawford: I had to—company policy.

Detective Murphy: You'd given him a verbal warning before the reprimand, correct?

Rick Crawford: Yes, that's correct.

Detective Armstrong: In fact, you gave him four verbal warnings before giving him the written reprimand.

Rick Crawford: That's true.

Detective Murphy: Can you help us understand how those events unfolded?

Rick Crawford: The company has a rule about employees using the phone for personal calls. It's kind of outdated now since everyone has cell phones, but it's still in the employee manual, so my job requires me to enforce it.

Detective Murphy: So Weldon received personal calls here?

Rick Crawford: Yes.

Detective Armstrong: Don't make us pull the details out of you one by one. Just tell us what happened.

Rick Crawford: I don't want to get Weldon in any kind of trouble. He really is one of my best employees.

Detective Armstrong: Do you want to get yourself in trouble instead for obstructing a police investigation?

Rick Crawford: No.

Detective Armstrong: Then spill it.

Rick Crawford: All right, but I don't understand why this is such a big deal. Weldon got a personal call on the hotel number one day. I reminded him that personal calls on the business line weren't permitted unless it was an emergency.

Detective Armstrong: Was it?

Rick Crawford: Was it what?

Detective Armstrong: An emergency?

Rick Crawford: Oh. No, not that I know of.

Detective Murphy: How did he respond to your verbal warning?

Rick Crawford: He was very calm, which isn't always the case with employees, I can tell you. He took it in stride, said he understood, and promised it wouldn't happen again.

Detective Armstrong: But it did.

Rick Crawford: Yes, several more times. Each time, I reminded him about the rule and each time, he apologized and said it wouldn't happen again.

Detective Murphy: At some point, you decided to give him a written reprimand.

Rick Crawford: Yes. I felt four verbal warnings were more than fair, and I had no choice but to put a reprimand in his file.

Detective Armstrong: How did he respond to that?

Rick Crawford: Well … he wasn't happy, but he didn't blow up. He told me again that he understood, and he swore it would never happen again.

Detective Armstrong: Did it?

Rick Crawford: No, not that I'm aware of.

Detective Murphy: Do you know who was calling him?

Rick Crawford: No, I'm afraid I don't.

Detective Murphy: Did you ever speak to the person?

Rick Crawford: Yes.

Detective Murphy: Was it a male or a female?

Rick Crawford: Female.

Detective Murphy: How old?

Rick Crawford: How could I possibly know that from a phone call?

Detective Murphy: Did she sound like his mother, his grandmother, his daughter, his girlfriend?

Rick Crawford: Weldon has a daughter?

Detective Armstrong: Did the caller sound like a child?

Rick Crawford: No.

Detective Murphy: Did you get a sense of the caller's relationship with Weldon?

Rick Crawford: I don't know. If I had to guess, I'd say it was his girlfriend, but she never said that, and he's never mentioned a girlfriend.

Detective Murphy: Was it the same female every time?

Rick Crawford: I couldn't say for sure, but I would think so.

Detective Murphy: Did she ever call after you gave Weldon the written reprimand?

Rick Crawford: Not that I know of.

Detective Armstrong: When does Weldon typically work?

Rick Crawford: Usually, 8:00 p.m. to midnight several nights a week. He'll pick up other shifts sometimes if we need someone to fill in.

Detective Armstrong: The time clock records show he wasn't working the night of August 26th.

Rick Crawford: That's true.

Detective Armstrong: Was that unusual?

Rick Crawford: Maybe a little. He usually works Saturday nights, which is a godsend because most people don't want to work then. He's never complained, so when he asked for that night off, I let him have it.

Detective Armstrong: When did he tell you he wanted to be off that night?

Rick Crawford: I don't remember exactly, but he gave me plenty of time to find a fill-in, so I'd say he gave me a week's notice or so.

Detective Armstrong: Did he say why he wanted the night off?

Rick Crawford: I didn't ask him. I don't get involved in my employees' personal business. If someone wants a shift off and I can make the schedule work, then I accommodate their request. It keeps the employees happy, and as long as someone's here covering the shift, what do I care who it is?

Detective Armstrong: You're aware that Weldon has other jobs in addition to the one he has here?

Rick Crawford: Yes. So what?

Detective Armstrong: If he told you he needed the shift off here so he could work at a different job, would you still have given him the night off?

Rick Crawford: I don't know. He's never said that to me. I guess it would depend on how much notice he gave me and whether I could find somebody to fill in for him.

Detective Murphy: Has Weldon ever asked for a shift off before?

Rick Crawford: I'm sure he must have. They all have. But I couldn't give you a specific example off the top of my head.

Detective Armstrong: What about since then?

Rick Crawford: Well, it's only been like a week and a half, but no, he hasn't asked for any more shifts off since then.

Detective Murphy: Have you noticed any changes in Weldon's behavior?

Rick Crawford: Since when?

Detective Armstrong: Since you've known him.

Rick Crawford: Weldon's a pretty even-keeled guy. I can't name anything that's changed about him since I've known him.

Detective Murphy: Did he ever mention Kristi Waterson?

Rick Crawford: Not that I can recall.

Detective Murphy: Did he ever say anything about an instructor at the university he was unhappy with? Without mentioning any names?

Rick Crawford: I don't think so. Like I said, I don't get involved in the employees' personal lives.

Detective Armstrong: Did he ever tell you anything about his girlfriend?

Rick Crawford: I don't even know for sure that he has a girlfriend. I was just guessing.

Detective Armstrong: Is there anything you can tell us about Weldon Foyle other than his work history and performance?

Rick Crawford: No, I don't think so.

Detective Murphy: Okay, thanks for your time, Rick. We'll be in touch if we need anything else.

Interview ended – 9:01 a.m.