Chapter 29: The Interrogation (Fragment 8)
February 20, 2014, 8:36 PM
Case #: 124.678.21-001
OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTION OF POLICE INTERVIEW
~~START PAGE 1~~
INTERROGATOR: I'm Lieutenant Charles Foster. This is Detective Terence Newman. Today is February 20, 2014 at 8:36 PM. Please state your full name and occupation for the record.
DUNCAN: Blair Potter Duncan. I'm a student.
INTERROGATOR: Are you currently enrolled in school?
DUNCAN: Yes. At the Louisiana Institute of Art and Design.
INTERROGATOR: I see. What are you studying there?
DUNCAN: Photography.
INTERROGATOR: And where exactly is that school located?
DUNCAN: In New Orleans.
INTERROGATOR: That's a ways from here. What brings you to Texas?
DUNCAN: A bus.
INTERROGATOR: OK Blair. We just have a few routine questions. This will go faster if you cooperate fully.
DUNCAN: Am I under arrest?
INTERROGATOR: Not at this time. However, I should advise you that we had probable cause to search the possessions you had on your person, including your duffel bag and cell phone.
DUNCAN: Probable cause for what? What did I do?
INTERROGATOR: At this point, we're looking at a range of charges including unlawful surveillance, among other things.
DUNCAN: Surveillance? Why? What—what does that mean?
INTERROGATOR: Let's start with the fact that you unlawfully gained access to a Twitter account.
DUNCAN: I don't know what you're talking about.
INTERROGATOR: Do you deny accessing the account with username @EricThornSucks?
DUNCAN: Oh that? My phone somehow logged into that thing by accident. I signed back out again as soon as I realized.
INTERROGATOR: So your phone only signed into that account on one occasion?
DUNCAN: Right. By accident. Some weird Twitter glitch.
INTERROGATOR: And if someone examines your data usage records, they will only find evidence that you logged into that account one time?
DUNCAN: I don't know. Maybe a few times. I'm not sure.
INTERROGATOR: And will they find evidence that someone purposefully input the username and password from your phone?
DUNCAN: How should I know?
INTERROGATOR: Blair, you'll only hurt yourself by lying. Let's try this again. When did you first gain access to the @EricThornSucks Twitter account?
DUNCAN: I don't know, OK? Really. I don't remember exactly. Maybe a few months ago. It wasn't my fault, though.
INTERROGATOR: What do you mean by that?
DUNCAN: I mean, come on! He didn't even use a real password. It was like he wanted me to look.
INTERROGATOR: So you did gain access to the account by guessing the password. Is that correct?
DUNCAN: There basically was no password. It was the word "password."
INTERROGATOR: Which you determined how, exactly?
DUNCAN: Look, I'm really sorry. I know I was being nosey. I shouldn't have done it. But how is that probable cause to search my bag and stuff?
INTERROGATOR: You mean the duffel bag that contained multiple cameras and telephoto lenses, along with a box-cutter, a butcher's knife, and several rolls of cord and duct tape?
DUNCAN: I can explain all of that.
INTERROGATOR: Go ahead.
DUNCAN: It's just stuff for a photo-shoot. Props and stuff. I'm a photography student. I told you.
INTERROGATOR: We also found 3,142 pictures of the alleged victim on your cell phone camera roll.
DUNCAN: So? Is that a crime now?
INTERROGATOR: Well, it doesn't look very good, now does it?
DUNCAN: Lots of people have pictures on their phone. So what?
INTERROGATOR: That's a heck of a lot of pictures, Blair.
DUNCAN: I guess so. They just accumulate somehow. I never bother deleting things.
INTERROGATOR: Did you take any of those pictures yourself?
DUNCAN: Maybe. I don't know.
INTERROGATOR: How about this one?
DUNCAN: What about it?
INTERROGATOR: Did you take it yourself?
DUNCAN: I don't remember.
INTERROGATOR: That's interesting, Blair. Do you have any psychiatric conditions that we should know about?
DUNCAN: What do you mean?
INTERROGATOR: Well, it's a rather intimate picture. It seems to me that most people would remember taking a photo like this. Don't you think so?
DUNCAN: I don't know.
INTERROGATOR: For the record, we're looking at the lock screen image on Blair Duncan's cell phone. This appears to be a picture of the alleged victim, asleep on top of a bed, dressed only in underwear. Would you say that's an accurate description, Blair?
DUNCAN: Well, yeah, except for the "alleged victim" part.
INTERROGATOR: It's a nice shot. Very artistic. Well composed. Good use of light. I happen to be a bit of a photography buff myself, so I can appreciate a work of art when I see one. What kind of camera did you use?
DUNCAN: I don't know what you're talking about.
INTERROGATOR: Blair, I'll be straight with you. We've got a forensic team analyzing your whole camera roll from top to bottom right now. They'll be able to tell all kinds of things. They'll figure out what kind of cameras you used, and what kind of lenses. They'll be able to tell how far away you were standing. And a lot of other things. For instance, they'll be able to tell whether you took any of these photos from long range through a window.
DUNCAN: What's your point?
INTERROGATOR: I will find out the answers to my questions, whether you cooperate or not. So why don't you save us all some trouble and answer me. Did you, or did you not, take this photo yourself?
DUNCAN: OK. Yes. I took it. I took a whole series. I used my Nikon D300S. OK? But it isn't what you're thinking.
INTERROGATOR: What am I thinking?
DUNCAN: It wasn't through a window. I was right there in the room.
INTERROGATOR: You were in the alleged victim's bedroom?
DUNCAN: It wasn't creepy or anything. More like a . . . photo-shoot.
INTERROGATION: So you were hired to take this picture? Or were you acting as a freelancer?
DUNCAN: No. Not like that. I'm still a student. It was just practice. But it was consensual. We were—I was sleeping over. We were seeing each other.
INTERROGATOR: You were dating?
DUNCAN: Yeah. Basically. We were in a relationship.
INTERROGATOR: A romantic relationship?
DUNCAN: Yes. We were together. We were . . . in love. At least, I thought we were.
INTERROGATOR: For how long?
DUNCAN: I don't know, exactly. A while.
INTERROGATOR: When did this relationship begin?
DUNCAN: Um . . . around this time last year, I guess.
INTERROGATOR: February 2013?
DUNCAN: Something like that. February or March.
INTERROGATOR: Where did you meet?
DUNCAN: At a concert.
INTERROGATOR: Can you be any more specific? What were the circumstances, precisely?
DUNCAN: What do you mean?
INTERROGATOR: Were you there with any other people, for example?
DUNCAN: No. Not really. I didn't really know a lot of people in town yet.
INTERROGATOR: So you went alone, and then you met during the concert. Is that right?
DUNCAN: Right.
INTERROGATOR: Describe for me how that initial contact took place.
DUNCAN: I don't know, we just . . . met. You know how it goes. At first we kept making eye contact, and kind of smiling at each other. I think maybe we brushed hands at one point. You know, flirting. The usual stuff. We started talking during a break in the set. We had a few drinks. One thing led to another.
INTERROGATOR: Did you go home together?
DUNCAN: Yes. We spent the night together.
INTERROGATOR: And this turned into an ongoing relationship?
DUNCAN: Yes.
INTERROGATOR: Is there anyone else who can corroborate the nature of your relationship?
DUNCAN: No. We hadn't really gone public with it yet. It was still kind of new. But we were—you know. We were like boyfriend and girlfriend.
INTERROGATOR: And how did the relationship end?
DUNCAN: It didn't end. That's the thing. That's why I'm here.
INTERROGATOR: What do you mean?
DUNCAN: I don't really know what happened, to be honest. The whole situation was really disturbing. One day we were together, and the next day . . . poof. Gone. Not a word of explanation. I still don't know why. It really sucked.
INTERROGATOR: That must have been hurtful.
DUNCAN: I know, right? No one deserves to be treated like that. Like I meant nothing. Like I never even existed.
INTERROGATOR: I can understand how that would have made you angry.
DUNCAN: Of course I was angry! And confused, too. I didn't understand. I still don't. That's why I had to read their DMs. I know it was wrong, but I just wanted to know what happened—to find out why. I got my heart broken, you know? I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I swear. I really didn't. I just came here to talk. All I wanted was the courtesy of an explanation.
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