Roy Cook interview

Thursday, January 28, 2021 – 10:03 a.m.

Roy Cook works as a park ranger at Wall Doxey State Park.

Detectives Armstrong and Beckwith interviewed him at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective P. Beckwith
• Roy Cook

Detective Beckwith: Good morning, Mr. Cook. Please state your name and address for the record.

Roy Cook: What's this about? I hope it won't take long because I'm missing work.

Detective Beckwith: We'll get you back to work as soon as possible, Mr. Cook, but first, we need your name and address for the record.

Roy Cook: My name is Roy Cook, and I live at 587 Pequest Road, Oxford. And, please, just call me Roy.

Detective Beckwith: Okay, Roy, we want to ask you a few questions about District Attorney Spenser Brooks.

Roy Cook: That's a shame about him being murdered. He was an okay guy.

Detective Beckwith: You knew him?

Roy Cook: We weren't friends, but he was always nice to me.

Detective Beckwith: How so?

Roy Cook: When he came to the park, he would stop sometimes and say hi, then drive on through.

Detective Armstrong: How often would you say you saw him visit the park?

Roy Cook: My guess would be once a month.

Detective Armstrong: We didn't find a record of that.

Roy Cook: The DA was what we call an unofficial open guest. He didn't sign in, so there's no official record of his visits.

Detective Armstrong: Do you have any other unofficial visitors to the park?

Roy Cook: Sure. We have a lot of powerful people that take advantage.

Detective Armstrong: Like who?

Roy Cook: Some of them, I don't know, but one I do remember is Alderman Collins because he's not friendly like Mr. Brooks, to put it mildly.

Detective Beckwith: Did you see Mr. Brooks enter the park last Saturday?

Roy Cook: No, I sure didn't. I don't like to admit it, but I was a little distracted that day, so I wasn't paying as much attention as I usually do.

Detective Beckwith: And why was that?

Roy Cook: I was reading up on Mexico. Left the next day, my first vacation in years. I just got back late last night, so I came in today later than my usual time.

Detective Armstrong: Nice! Pretty short trip, though.

Roy Cook: Yeah, it's like that sometimes.

Detective Armstrong: Did you happen to see Alderman Collins on Saturday?

Roy Cook: No, sir, but like I said before, I was focused on my own things.

Detective Armstrong: When you weren't getting ready for your vacation, did you recognize anyone else at the park that day?

Roy Cook: Yeah, I saw the DA's son, Wesley. He was just wandering around in the woods.

Detective Armstrong: How do you know the DA's son?

Roy Cook: I've seen Wesley at the park with his family before. They used to come out for picnics pretty regular-like. That was the first time I'd seen him in a long while.

Detective Beckwith: Did you speak with him?

Roy Cook: No, I just saw him wandering through the woods when I was coming to work.

Detective Beckwith: Was that unusual?

Roy Cook: No. People walk in the woods all the time.

Detective Beckwith: Does Wesley?

Roy Cook: I don't know. I've seen him before. I know that.

Detective Beckwith: What time did you get to work that day?

Roy Cook: Must've been about 10:00 a.m., give or take?

Detective Beckwith: And you're sure it was Wesley Brooks you saw? It couldn't have been someone who looked like him?

Roy Cook: I'm pretty sure it was Wesley, but I could be wrong, I guess. Are you saying it wasn't him?

Detective Beckwith: I didn't see him, so I don't know who it was. I just wanted to find out how confident you are that it was Wesley.

Roy Cook: Pretty confident.

Detective Armstrong: When Spenser Brooks came out to the park, did he ever have anyone with him besides his family?

Roy Cook: A couple of times, I saw him with a young woman.

Detective Armstrong: Can you describe her?

Roy Cook: I didn't pay too much attention. It's not my business, right?

Detective Armstrong: Still, can you tell us anything about her?

Roy Cook: I'd say she was in her twenties. I couldn't tell much about her because she was on the passenger side, you know. Mr. Brooks said they were going to have lunch in the park.

Detective Armstrong: You asked him what they were doing?

Roy Cook: No, it was just small talk.

Detective Beckwith: Do you ever go into the cabins in the park?

Roy Cook: Ever? Maybe, if someone asks me to, but not too often.

Detective Beckwith: Have you ever been in Cabin 7?

Roy Cook: It's possible, but I don't recall that specifically.

Detective Beckwith: Have you ever heard anything about illegal gambling in the cabins?

Roy Cook: No,, sir, I never heard anything like that. I don't have anything to do with the cabin rentals.

Detective Armstrong: Roy, I wanted to ask you, are you Terrance Cook's son?

Roy Cook: Yeah, he's my father. Why do you ask?

Detective Armstrong: You resemble him. I've known Terrance for a while. He's a good man.

Roy Cook: Yeah, well, Dad and I don't always see eye to eye on everything.

Detective Armstrong: Who does? Just the same, he's a good guy.

Roy Cook: Yes, sir.

Detective Armstrong: Thanks for your time today, Roy. We'll give you a call if we need anything else. Tell your dad that Ted said hello.

Roy Cook: No problem.

Interview ended – 10:26 a.m.