Richard Landrigan interview #3

Friday, September 20, 2024 – 11:17 a.m.

Richard Landrigan was arrested on fraud charges related to his management of Yoknapatawpha Acres nursing home. He is being held in custody pending a bail hearing but agreed to speak to detectives about Jerry Shaw and nothing else.

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

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Richard D. Landrigan

Detective Armstrong: Would you please state your name and address for the record?

Richard Landrigan: Richard Landrigan and I live at 262 Woodlawn Drive, Oxford.

Detective Murphy: Officer, please remove his cuffs.

Richard Landrigan: Thanks. I don't know why they put those on me. I'm not a criminal.

Detective Armstrong: That's for a jury to decide now. From what I've seen and heard—

Richard Landrigan: Oh, come on! These charges are ridiculous. Anyway, I agreed to talk with you about Jerry Shaw. I refuse to discuss these … other matters without my attorney present.

Detective Armstrong: How much money did Jerry Shaw owe you, Richard?

Richard Landrigan: What in the world are you talking about?

Detective Armstrong: We've heard from several people that Jerry liked to gamble. Did he owe you money? Or did you owe him?

Richard Landrigan: I don't know what you're talking about.

Detective Armstrong: From what we've heard, Shaw definitely got away with things that other employees didn't. Did he have something on you?

Richard Landrigan: Okay, fine. I owed him some money. Not a lot. I assure you it wasn't enough to kill him over.

Detective Murphy: You have no alibi for the time frame when Jerry was murdered.

Richard Landrigan: I was in my office!

Detective Murphy: Were you? Or were you in the dining room?

Richard Landrigan: Well, I don't know because I don't know when he was killed. How could I know where I was if I don't know when it happened?

Detective Armstrong: We haven't found anyone who can verify that you were in either place, Richard.

Richard Landrigan: My word is good.

Detective Armstrong: All evidence to the contrary.

Richard Landrigan: I can't be the only one who made bets with Jerry. Why are you persecuting me? And these charges? Who accused me of wrongdoing? Natalie? She'll do anything to cover herself. This is all just some smokescreen that she's concocted.

Detective Murphy: So Natalie just made up all this evidence against you?

Richard Landrigan: Yes!

Detective Murphy: Why would she do that?

Richard Landrigan: How should I know? That old witch always thought she was better than me.

Detective Armstrong: Did she make up the bedsores on Rose Jenkins, too?

Richard Landrigan: Patient care was her responsibility, not mine. I'm not a medical professional.

Detective Armstrong: Maybe if you had spent the company's money on staff and supplies instead of keeping it for yourself, you wouldn't be in this mess.

Richard Landrigan: Look, I already told you I'm not going to talk about these charges without my attorney.

Detective Armstrong: Fine. If you didn't kill Shaw because you owed him money or because he was blackmailing you because he found out what you were up to or both, then who did?

Richard Landrigan: Why are you asking me? Isn't that your job to find out?

Detective Armstrong: I'm asking you because you're the one who's here—and under arrest.

Richard Landrigan: It was probably Natalie. She always hated Jerry.

Detective Murphy: For the sake of argument, let's say we've already ruled out Natalie. Then who did it?

Richard Landrigan: It could be anybody. People were always complaining to me about Jerry.

Detective Murphy: Like who?

Richard Landrigan: Staff, patients, family members, you name it.

Detective Armstrong: No, you name it.

Richard Landrigan: Joe Wilson, Jack Thomson, Ed Harbison.

Detective Murphy: What was Joe Wilson's complaint?

Richard Landrigan: He said Jerry was stealing food from the kitchen, but he never had any proof, so what could I do?

Detective Murphy: And Jack Thomson?

Richard Landrigan: Oh, boy. That one. He said Jerry was mean.

Detective Murphy: To who?

Richard Landrigan: To him, to other staff members, to patients.

Detective Murphy: What did you do about it?

Richard Landrigan: I told him to stop whining, grow a pair, and stand up for himself if Jerry was bothering him. I'm running a business, not a kindergarten.

Detective Armstrong: Nice.

Detective Murphy: And Ed Harbison, what was his complaint?

Richard Landrigan: Honestly? His real complaint is that his mother's a nightmare. Talk about someone who's mean!

Detective Murphy: We're discussing complaints about Jerry. Did Mr. Harbison complain about him, or was he just a pain in your … neck, so you want to get back at him by saying he killed Jerry?

Richard Landrigan: Yes, he complained about Jerry. Said his mother didn't like him, which is no big surprise since she doesn't like anyone.

Detective Murphy: So Mr. Harbison just wanted to tell you his mother didn't like Jerry?

Richard Landrigan: No, he wanted me to fire Jerry, like, right then that day. But you know that's not how it works. You can't just fire somebody these days. You have to build up a file on them first in case they decide to sue.

Detective Murphy: What did you do about Mr. Harbison's complaint?

Richard Landrigan: I told him I'd look into it.

Detective Armstrong: I'm sure he found that very reassuring.

Detective Murphy: So all of these people—Natalie Martin, Joe Wilson, Jack Thomson, Ed Harbison—complained about Jerry, and you still didn't fire him? Did you discipline him or give him a warning?

Richard Landrigan: We had a conversation. Maybe it wasn't entirely successful.

Detective Armstrong: You think?

Detective Murphy: Is that when you stopped giving him his pick of shifts? Stopped letting him get away with all of his bad behavior?

Richard Landrigan: I cracked down on him some, yes.

Detective Murphy: And that's when the arguments started? The shoving matches?

Richard Landrigan: Well, he didn't like it much.

Detective Murphy: And still, you didn't fire him?

Richard Landrigan: No.

Detective Murphy: Because he had something on you, so you couldn't?

Richard Landrigan: I already told you why.

Detective Armstrong: You killed Jerry to get out from under his thumb, didn't you?

Richard Landrigan: I already told you no!

Detective Armstrong: You were the boss, and you got tired of him telling you what to do. You wanted him gone, but you couldn't fire him, so you had to kill him.

Richard Landrigan: No! If you're not going to listen to me, I'm done talking. I want my attorney.

Detective Murphy: Okay, Richard, if that's how you want to play it.

Detective Armstrong: Officer, come get your prisoner. Don't forget the cuffs.

Richard Landrigan: You'll be hearing from my attorney.

Detective Armstrong: Looking forward to it.

Interview ended – 11:44 a.m.