Anna Raymond interview

Monday, February 5, 2024 – 11:15 a.m.

Anna Raymond and her husband live next door to the Jensons.

Detectives Armstrong and Murphy interviewed her at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Anna Raymond

Detective Murphy: Good morning, Mrs. Raymond. We appreciate your coming in to talk with us. We'll try not to take up much of your day.

Anna Raymond: Please call me Anna. I'll feel more comfortable if you do.

Detective Murphy: Of course, Anna. We're sorry for your loss.

Anna Raymond: Oh, I loved that young man, and I'm going to miss him very much. I'm more than happy to be here if I can be of any help.

Detective Murphy: Thank you. We need your name and address for our records.

Anna Raymond: My name is Anna Lee Raymond, and I live at 1197 Mimosa Drive, Oxford. It's such a tragedy, Blake dying. We've known the Jensons for a long time. You couldn't ask for better neighbors.

Detective Armstrong: Tell us about Blake.

Anna Raymond: Well, he's a sweet boy with lots of friends. Raised by his grandparents, you know. He's their pride and joy. They love him very much and brag to everyone about his musical talent and how responsible he is.

Detective Armstrong: But didn't you have to call the police on Blake more than once?

Anna Raymond: Only when it was late, and Blake had the music up too loud. George would call and ask him to turn it down, which Blake would do. But that'd only last for a few minutes, and then someone would crank the music up again.

Detective Murphy: So, just excessive noise? Nothing else?

Anna Raymond: No, nothing else. Other than the noise, Blake was respectful and polite. I guess we're just old and grouchy, but Blake never got upset with us about it, I don't think. Oh, I hope he didn't. I'm sure he understood that George had to get up for work in the morning.

Detective Armstrong: Did you see Blake yesterday?

Anna Raymond: No, but he called to say he was having another party and he'd try to keep the noise down. He said he was being challenged again.

Detective Murphy: Challenged how?

Anna Raymond: He'd have friends over to play video games. Mainly to challenge him at Guitar Hero, whatever that is. Blake always talked about how good he was at that game.

Detective Armstrong: Did you notice anything unusual last night?

Anna Raymond: I left the house around 7:00 p.m. to take Trouble for a walk. Trouble's my little Yorkshire terrier. We take our walk near the same time every evening. We go around the block twice unless Trouble gets tired.

Detective Armstrong: Okay, so while you were walking Trouble, did you notice anything specifically related to Blake or his party guests?

Anna Raymond: Leaving the house, I noticed several young people at Blake's, but on my second lap around, I saw a young man storm out of the guesthouse. He looked angry. He went to his car, took out a bottle of booze, and drank some of it.

Detective Murphy: What made you think it was a bottle of booze?

Anna Raymond: It was a fifth of something amber-colored, so whiskey or bourbon, I'd say. And the way he winced when he took that drink is the way people do when they're taking a shot of booze.

Detective Murphy: Did he leave then?

Anna Raymond: Oh, no. Then he finished the cigarette he was smoking and flicked the butt onto the ground. He gave me a dirty look as I walked past and called me a nosy, old bitch. He was definitely angry about something. I just ignored him and kept walking, but it was a little unnerving.

Detective Murphy: Did you recognize him?

Anna Raymond: No, I don't remember seeing him at Blake's any other time. Blake's friends don't act that way. Not that I've seen, anyway.

Detective Armstrong: Did you notice anything else out of the ordinary?

Anna Raymond: I wanted to keep an eye on that young man, so when I got home, I watched him from the window. Then, all the lights went out at Blake's.

Detective Murphy: How long had you been watching when the lights went out?

Anna Raymond: Oh, not long. Two or three minutes, maybe? Less than five.

Detective Murphy: Were you concerned?

Anna Raymond: I thought it was odd since our lights were on, but I wasn't concerned. I figured someone at the party was playing a joke, or the breaker tripped. So I watched for a few minutes until the lights came back on, then I sat down and tried to relax and forget that rude young man.

Detective Armstrong: Did the party continue after the lights came back on?

Anna Raymond: No, it stayed quiet. Pretty soon, I heard a siren screeching up our street. As it got close, I jumped to my feet and nudged George. He was watching TV with the headphones on so he wouldn't hear any party noise. We ran to the window and saw a police car pull up to Blake's guesthouse.

Detective Murphy: What did you think?

Anna Raymond: At first, I thought someone called about the noise, but the police don't use the lights and sirens for that. So George and I watched to make sure nobody got into a fight or anything.

Detective Murphy: Had there been fights in the past?

Anna Raymond: No, not that we knew of, but I'd also never seen anyone drinking outside at Blake's parties, so we watched. Within a few minutes, the ambulance came, and we knew it was something bad. We just didn't know how bad.

Detective Armstrong: How did you find out what happened?

Anna Raymond: The ambulance left with no lights or siren, so we breathed a sigh of relief and started getting ready for bed. Around 9:00 p.m. or so, someone from the sheriff's department came to the door asking if we had contact information for Agnes and Luther. Oh, it's just awful. Tragic.

Detective Murphy: Okay. We're almost done here, Anna. Did you contact the Jensons?

Anna Raymond: Yes, last night. Late. Around midnight. We waited, hoping they'd call us. Tell us what happened. They'd intended to but had to make arrangements…flying from Texas. They'll be home later today. After we hung up, George and I held each other and cried. We both just…cried.

Detective Murphy: I know this is difficult. Thank you, Anna. If you think of anything else that may help us, please call. You can go now.

Interview ended – 11:37 a.m.