Sharon Hathaway interview

Saturday, March 6, 2021 – 5:30 p.m.

Sharon Hathaway is Vincent Gayle's live-in girlfriend.

Detectives Beckwith and Magee invited her to come in to talk about Daniel.

Participants:

• Detective P. Beckwith
• Detective J. Magee
• Sharon Hathaway

Detective Magee: Have a seat. Please state your name and address for the record.

Sharon Hathaway: My name's Sharon Hathaway, and my address is 3 County Road 169 in Alesville.

Detective Magee: Thank you, Ms. Hathaway. We wanted to talk to you today about Daniel Collier. What is your relationship to Daniel?

Sharon Hathaway: Well, Vincent was close with Daniel's parents, who died when Daniel was a kid, so Vincent took custody of him.

Detective Beckwith: What's Vincent's last name?

Sharon Hathaway: Gayle. Didn't you know that already?

Detective Beckwith: Yes, we just need to make sure we're all talking about the same people.

Sharon Hathaway: Oh, I understand. Yes, it's Vincent Gayle.

Detective Beckwith: Thank you. Tell us about your relationship with Mr. Gayle.

Sharon Hathaway: Vincent and I have been together for about five years. We met when I was working as a server at McEwen's restaurant and hit it off right away. I moved in with him and Daniel a couple years ago.

Detective Beckwith: How did Daniel feel about you moving in?

Sharon Hathaway: We've always gotten along well. He was a little bit shy at first, but I was sensitive to his situation.

Detective Magee: What situation is that?

Sharon Hathaway: Well, having had both of his parents die at such a young age. Poor kid. I really felt bad for him, and I tried to become somewhat of a mother figure for him.

Detective Magee: And have you become a mother figure for him?

Sharon Hathaway: Yeah, I think so.

Detective Beckwith: So when did you last speak to Daniel?

Sharon Hathaway: The night he left, which was on January 2nd. Vince and I had a bible study group that night, so we said our goodbyes before we left. When we got back, Daniel was gone.

Detective Beckwith: About what time did you leave the house that evening?

Sharon Hathaway: Our group starts at 7:00 p.m., so we left around 6:30.

Detective Beckwith: And you knew Daniel would be gone by the time you got home?

Sharon Hathaway: Yeah, he wanted to leave at night for some reason, even though we tried to talk him into waiting until morning. He couldn't wait to get on the road.

Detective Beckwith: What time did you arrive home?

Sharon Hathaway: Around 9:00 p.m.

Detective Beckwith: And Daniel was gone?

Sharon Hathaway: Yes.

Detective Beckwith: And you haven't heard from him since?

Sharon Hathaway: No. See, before he left, he and Vincent got into a pretty bad argument, and Daniel seemed to want to just get away from everything. So we're just giving him time, hoping that he'll contact us when he's ready.

Detective Beckwith: Aren't you worried about him? Since you and Vincent don't know where he is?

Sharon Hathaway: I'm a little worried, but I trust Daniel. He's a good kid with a good head on his shoulders.

Detective Magee: So what did Vincent and Daniel argue about?

Sharon Hathaway: Vincent didn't think it was a good idea for Daniel to go off to New York City. You know, he was just worried about him. But Daniel insisted on going.

Detective Beckwith: What exactly did Mr. Gayle say about him going?

Sharon Hathaway: He told Daniel that New York City is dangerous, that he wouldn't have anybody to fall back on if he needed help. He wanted to know why Daniel couldn't just pursue his art somewhere closer to home.

Detective Beckwith: And how did Daniel respond?

Sharon Hathaway: Well, apparently, he had been talking to some people in New York that were part of some art group or something. He was going to stay with them.

Detective Beckwith: What kind of art group?

Sharon Hathaway: I don't know. He said that a few of them rent out a warehouse, and they had a room for him. But he didn't really talk about what they do exactly.

Detective Magee: Do you know anything else about this warehouse?

Sharon Hathaway: No. I imagine it's some rundown old thing filled with a bunch of young kids trying to make it as artists, but I really have no idea. I just hope it's safe.

Detective Beckwith: Did Daniel and Vincent ever get into arguments before this one?

Sharon Hathaway: Occasionally, just over the usual stuff. Having friends over too late, that kind of thing.

Detective Beckwith: Was this argument more serious than their usual ones?

Sharon Hathaway: I guess so, yeah. I mean, it didn't come to blows or anything like that, but Daniel was being particularly stubborn. He refused to compromise on anything.

Detective Magee: Can you give us an example?

Sharon Hathaway: Well, once Vincent could see there was no talking him out of going, he offered to drive him up to New York City and help him get settled in, but Daniel refused, saying he wanted to go alone.

Detective Magee: Why do you think he wanted to go alone?

Sharon Hathaway: That's just the way Daniel is. He's always been very independent. 

Detective Beckwith: So Daniel left, and neither of you have heard from him since?

Sharon Hathaway: No, but that doesn't surprise me. He's probably trying to prove he can make it on his own.

Detective Magee: What about his friend Brandon Ebner? Have you talked to him since Daniel left?

Sharon Hathaway: Oh yeah, Brandon has been calling and coming over, asking about Daniel constantly. 

Detective Magee: What has he been asking?

Sharon Hathaway: Well, apparently, you guys know that Brandon has been freaking out ever since Daniel left. He just can't seem to accept that Daniel left him behind. He thinks something bad might've happened to him, but we have no reason to think that.

Detective Beckwith: Has Brandon told you why he thinks something has happened to Daniel?

Sharon Hathaway: Not really. He came by a couple times, asking us where Daniel's living and why his phone is turned off. Vincent told him we didn't know where he went. Daniel didn't tell us. And that made Brandon really upset. When he came by a few days later, Brandon said he had heard from Daniel on Facebook but wanted to know if he could look in his old room.

Detective Beckwith: Why did he want to do that?

Sharon Hathaway: I have no idea. He seemed really upset, almost frantic. I told him to go home and just give Daniel some time to get settled in. But Brandon just stormed away, slamming the screen door behind him. Truth be told, I'm more worried about Brandon than I am about Daniel.

Detective Magee: So why do you think Brandon broke into your house?

Sharon Hathaway: I don't know. Probably for the same reason he wanted to come in before. Maybe he loaned something to Daniel, and Brandon wanted to see if it was in his room? I don't know.

Detective Magee: Where were you at the time of the break-in?

Sharon Hathaway: I was out grocery shopping.

Detective Beckwith: What time did you leave the house?

Sharon Hathaway: I guess it was around 11:00 or 11:15 a.m.

Detective Beckwith: And when did you arrive home?

Sharon Hathaway: I got a call from Vincent just before noon saying our house was broken into and I should head home immediately because he couldn't leave work. I was already in the checkout line, so I finished up and headed straight home.

Detective Magee: When you got home, did you notice anything missing or out of place?

Sharon Hathaway: No, not at all, and I checked everywhere. When I got home, I was expecting the place to be ransacked, so I was surprised that nothing had been stolen.

Detective Beckwith: Did you notice anything suspicious before you left the house?

Sharon Hathaway: No, not that I can recall.

Detective Magee: Okay. Just one more thing, Ms. Hathaway. Do you know any of Daniel's friends? Other than Brandon, of course.

Sharon Hathaway: I've seen a couple of boys hanging out with Daniel in the garage, I believe. Taylor and … Darren, maybe? They've come over to the house a couple times.

Detective Magee: Do you know their last names?

Sharon Hathaway: No, I never spoke to them directly.

Detective Magee: What were they doing in the garage?

Sharon Hathaway: That's where Daniel and his friends hung out sometimes. They were just standing around talking, I guess.

Detective Magee: Anyone else?

Sharon Hathaway: He was unusually chummy with that art teacher. I don't know about you, but I never talked to any of my high school teachers after I graduated. I don't know what was going on with the two of them.

Detective Magee: Did you know any of his co-workers?

Sharon Hathaway: At that car repair shop? No. Well, there was someone named … Jordan … something? But I never met him.

Detective Beckwith: All right, Ms. Hathaway. Thank you for coming in today. We may have some more questions for you later.

Sharon Hathaway: Okay, no problem. Please let us know if you find anything out. After all this, I am starting to get worried. 

Detective Beckwith: We'll do that.

Interview ended – 5:59 p.m.