Peter Davis interview #2

Saturday, January 6, 2024 – 10:30 a.m.

Peter Davis' sister Joy committed suicide, allegedly after an encounter with Jared Plunk that left her devastated. Plunk also replaced Davis' wife, Sonya, as keynote speaker at the Elvis conference.

Detectives Murphy and Parker re-interviewed him at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.

Participants

• Detective S. Murphy
• Detective E. Parker
• Peter Davis

Detective Murphy: Good morning, Mr. Davis. We called you in to clarify some things.

Peter Davis: Will this take long? Sonya was feeling ill. I want to make sure she's okay.

Detective Murphy: Not too long. We understand that your wife believes the Elvis letters were all a scam. Has she told you that?

Peter Davis: Sonya? No, not directly, but it was easy to see that she thought Joy was silly for acting the way she did over those letters.

Detective Parker: She told you this?

Peter Davis: She didn't have to. My wife is a good woman, but it's no secret that my sister was … a lot to deal with sometimes. Sonya didn't always have the same patience with Joy as I did.

Detective Murphy: How did Sonya feel about your giving money to your sister all the time?

Peter Davis: I know she was angry. I'll give Sonya credit. She never confronted me directly about it, but she would always drop these hints about how the money seemed to disappear so fast, how the bills were piling up, and things like that. We didn't have to worry. Our bills were always paid. It was just Sonya's way of letting me know she knew what I was doing.

Detective Parker: Did you confront her about it?

Peter Davis: Detective, are you married? If you were, you'd know that sometimes it's best to just let sleeping dogs lie. If she didn't want to come right out and say something, I sure as heck wasn't going to open the door for her.

Detective Murphy: Back to the letters. Your wife is convinced they weren't real. Did you ever see them yourself?

Peter Davis: No. When Joy had them, she wouldn't let anyone see them. And once Plunk had them, well … we certainly didn't have the kind of relationship where he'd confide in me, especially after what happened with Joy. I just sat back and waited to see how it would all play out.

Detective Parker: Did you think it would play out with Jared Plunk murdered?

Peter Davis: Certainly not.

Detective Murphy: What about you? Did you believe the letters were real, that Elvis Presley really wrote them?

Peter Davis: That's what Joy said. I can't imagine her lying about that.

Detective Parker: Even if she was desperate for money?

Peter Davis: If she was desperate for money, she would've come to me, not concocted some elaborate lie about Elvis. I don't think you understand how Joy felt about him.

Detective Parker: How did she feel about him?

Peter Davis: She worshipped him. Not in that strange Carl Warren way. Maybe it's more accurate to say she idolized him. She thought Elvis was the most talented, most brilliant, most handsome, most romantic, most every-positive-quality-you-can-think-of man that ever has or ever will live. It was how Joy coped with the world. She could never make up a lie about Elvis that might hurt what people thought of him because it would betray her entire reason for living.

Detective Parker: I don't say this to be cruel, Mr. Davis, but isn't it possible that she did betray her reason for living, and that's why she … did what she did?

Peter Davis: No! Jared Plunk drove her to suicide with his lies. It wasn't her fault.

Detective Murphy: Your wife must have been upset about being replaced as keynote speaker, especially if she thought Plunk was running a con.

Peter Davis: She was quite displeased. Of course, she got the last laugh when Max Snyder had to rehire her.

Detective Murphy: Does your wife have a temper?

Peter Davis: What do you mean?

Detective Murphy: You told us you slipped money to your sister on the sly rather than address the issue with your wife. Were you afraid of what Sonya might do?

Peter Davis: Sonya is feisty. That's true. But I've never been afraid of her.

Detective Murphy: Has her feistiness ever become physical?

Peter Davis: My wife did not kill Jared Plunk. She was upset but not that upset. Sure, she might have caused a scene, but she would never stab anybody.

Detective Parker: Even in the heat of the moment?

Peter Davis: I'm sure there wasn't a knife just lying there in the hallway. Whoever met up with Plunk went there planning to kill the man.

Detective Murphy: Why do you assume the killer met with Plunk rather than surprised him?

Peter Davis: It's just a figure of speech. Met up with him, ran into him, however you want to put it.

Detective Parker: If you say so. Well, thanks for your time. We'll be in touch.

Interview ended – 10:57 a.m.