W. Ronald Douglas interview #2

Friday, May 26, 2023 – 3:45 p.m.

W. Ronald Douglas was Devlin Beauchamp's attorney.

Detectives Armstrong and Murphy interviewed him at his office, 1102 Van Buren Avenue.

Participants:

• Detective S. Murphy
• Detective T. Armstrong
• W. Ronald Douglas

Detective Murphy: Thank you for meeting with us again, Mr. Douglas.

W. Ronald Douglas: Certainly.

Detective Murphy: Were you aware of your client, Devlin Beauchamp, being in any danger?

W. Ronald Douglas: I'm not sure I know what you mean.

Detective Murphy: Was there anyone Mr. Beauchamp was fighting with, arguing with? Anyone who might want to cause him harm?

W. Ronald Douglas: I believe we've been over this before.

Detective Murphy: Yes, but during our search of Mr. Beauchamp's home, we found two letters addressed to him and signed by you. You seemed very concerned about his well-being.

W. Ronald Douglas: Well, yes. There were some delicate matters that Devlin was involved in revolving around a woman named Posner.

Detective Murphy: Natalie Posner?

W. Ronald Douglas: Yes, that's the one. I'm not sure how much detail I can give here. Devlin wasn't terribly forthcoming about the situation, so I don't know much. But he also didn't want me saying anything to law enforcement, so I have to be careful to respect his wishes.

Detective Murphy: I understand.

W. Ronald Douglas: Let's just say that Devlin came to me earlier this year with some concerns that this Natalie person might be in Oxford and using a fake identity. I got the idea that this person may have been a fugitive from the law, but he didn't explicitly say that.

Detective Armstrong: And what was your advice?

W. Ronald Douglas: You have the letters. Basically, I just told him that without knowing more details, I couldn't give any direct advice. I told him to be careful and asked him to provide me with more information.

Detective Armstrong: Did Mr. Beauchamp ever provide you with more details?

W. Ronald Douglas: In a way. A few weeks ago, he told me his fears had been confirmed. He never divulged the actual details. He just said, "My fears were correct." He was nervous and scared, and he felt a bit guilty, like he thought he should've been able to handle the situation.

Detective Murphy: What was your advice at that point?

W. Ronald Douglas: I suggested that we turn the matter over to the authorities, but he didn't really want to do that. He was worried about what might happen to the woman.

Detective Murphy: Did you ever learn the true identity of this mystery woman?

W. Ronald Douglas: No. Devlin kept wavering. One minute, he seemed to want to tell me and for us to go to the police. Other times, he acted like it would just go away on its own or he could take care of the situation himself.

Detective Armstrong: Did you ever consider contacting the sheriff's department directly?

W. Ronald Douglas: No. Of course, Devlin's conversations with me were protected by the attorney-client privilege. I could only have come to you if I had factual evidence that a crime was being planned. I had nothing of the sort. In fact, what would I have told you? My client seemed to be scared of some woman, but I didn't know who or where she was or why exactly he was afraid of her? That's not very much to go on. I had no name, no details, no facts, nothing.

Detective Armstrong: Can you speculate as to who the person might be?

W. Ronald Douglas: I'm not even going to try. Devlin came into contact with many women. Some were customers at the restaurant, some played on his softball team, some worked for him, and he frequently dated different women. If I tried to guess, I'd just be throwing darts in the dark.

Detective Armstrong: No offense, but you don't seem to know very much about your client.

W. Ronald Douglas: As I said, Devlin really didn't give me much to go on. What few details he provided, he explicitly requested that I not tell the authorities. Even though he has passed on, my primary responsibility is to honor my client's wishes, so I'm kinda on a tightrope here.

Detective Murphy: Okay, we understand. Thank you for your time.

Interview ended – 4:08 p.m.