Audio Recording
SPEAKER_00: Time visit. SPEAKER_00: 03:00. SPEAKER_01: Coming down. SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: Of course. SPEAKER_00: Appreciate you coming in. SPEAKER_00: This is obviously about the stuff up at U of I. SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Right? SPEAKER_00: So real quick, because because we're kinda getting some stuff relayed from the place that are working up there to you know, obviously, everyone or a lot of people left school and SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: A lot of people live down here. SPEAKER_00: So where where do you live up there? SPEAKER_00: And I'm not very familiar distance wise, how far do you think it is? SPEAKER_00: Like, just a couple houses away? SPEAKER_00: Just or is it SPEAKER_02: It's really 10 feet. SPEAKER_02: There's, a stairway that leads to SPEAKER_00: Oh, so it's, like, SPEAKER_02: white apartments. SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: It's, like, a white side. SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: The backside. SPEAKER_00: It's like a SPEAKER_02: white complex. SPEAKER_01: Okay. SPEAKER_01: So if this this is their house, you're just Mhmm. SPEAKER_01: Up here on the SPEAKER_02: hill? SPEAKER_02: So, no, if you walk straight, there's, like, little stairs that go down right here. SPEAKER_02: Oh, straight. SPEAKER_02: And it's the white buildings. SPEAKER_02: Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: And they they call that the whites. SPEAKER_00: Right? SPEAKER_00: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: We you know, from not I didn't go to school up there. SPEAKER_00: I didn't whatever. SPEAKER_00: But hearing people talk about different stuff then SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay. SPEAKER_00: Somebody told me about that earlier today. SPEAKER_02: I don't know the actual name of it. SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: It's just Everybody calls it. SPEAKER_00: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: And then are you in any sorority up there? SPEAKER_02: No. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: The reason I asked is because I know there's most of the people we've talked to belong to, like, maybe one of two or or you're not part of? SPEAKER_02: I did my no. SPEAKER_02: I did my sophomore year. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: So of the of the victims, which ones did you know? SPEAKER_02: Maddie, Kayla, or Kaylee, and Xana. SPEAKER_02: And I knew not Ethan personal, but we've talked a couple times. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: So you see him around. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: Maybe talked to him a couple times, but didn't really know him. SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: But yeah. SPEAKER_02: Matthew and I were the closest of all of them. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: You and Matthew were close. SPEAKER_00: Are you guys same year? SPEAKER_01: Or Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: And SPEAKER_01: Were you in the same sorority when you were in it? SPEAKER_02: No. SPEAKER_02: I wasn't in the sorority. SPEAKER_02: So I lived with and Okay. SPEAKER_02: My sophomore year, and they were always over. SPEAKER_02: But I went to Maddie's and Xana's quite often in Kaylee's. SPEAKER_02: Okay. SPEAKER_02: I was over there. SPEAKER_02: I was usually with them all the time. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: Were you and were you up there for game day? SPEAKER_00: This is just last weekend? SPEAKER_02: Yes. SPEAKER_02: But I didn't go out. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: I know that there was all kinds of parties and hangings out and whatnot. SPEAKER_00: So you didn't go out at all or you didn't SPEAKER_02: No. SPEAKER_02: So I didn't go out during the day. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_02: But the party that they attended with the picture of, like, the six of them Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: Would so I went out and said hi. SPEAKER_02: Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: But no. SPEAKER_02: I wasn't Okay. SPEAKER_02: I didn't go out till the night at the bars. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: And did you go did you go to the corner club that night with them, or did you just see them there? SPEAKER_02: No. SPEAKER_02: So I went with my friend Okay. SPEAKER_02: When we got there, we found Maddie and Kaylee. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: You did you know that they were there? SPEAKER_00: Because I know Maddie liked to text people and say, hey. SPEAKER_00: Come down here. SPEAKER_00: I'm here. SPEAKER_00: Let's meet up here, whatever. SPEAKER_00: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Or did you just happen to run into them? SPEAKER_02: Usually, we just we just kinda saw each other. SPEAKER_02: Okay. SPEAKER_02: But usually, sometimes she'd text me, sometimes she wouldn't. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_02: Kinda just depends. SPEAKER_02: But at that time, no. SPEAKER_00: So you guys were all at the corner club. SPEAKER_00: Were you kinda hanging together at the club? SPEAKER_02: Oh, the whole time. SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: And then do you remember what time they left at all? SPEAKER_02: So I was supposed to go home with them. SPEAKER_02: Okay. SPEAKER_02: And I just I don't know. SPEAKER_02: I got a weird feeling. SPEAKER_02: So I decided to get a ride home with Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: I wanna say about 01:15, somewhere between then, I think. SPEAKER_00: Is when you left? SPEAKER_00: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: Okay. SPEAKER_02: For sure. SPEAKER_00: And they were still at the SPEAKER_02: But, yeah, they stayed. SPEAKER_00: At the corner club? SPEAKER_02: Because I decided last minute to get a ride with someone else. SPEAKER_00: Who and so who gave you a ride home? SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: Do you know the name? SPEAKER_02: No. SPEAKER_02: I'm not really close to the freshman, but my friends called it. SPEAKER_02: Like, the older adults called SPEAKER_00: it. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: Got it. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: And then did when they got home, could you I mean, you're you live close. SPEAKER_00: Could you tell when people started showing back over the house, you know, because noise and SPEAKER_02: Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: Whatnot? SPEAKER_02: Or So we went to our friend's apartment. SPEAKER_02: We were playing music, but we didn't hear anything. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: You you don't know what time they got back home or any of that stuff? SPEAKER_00: Mm-mm. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_02: But I I do know they went and got food after a crap truck. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Do you know it because of the video that's going around, or did you know that anyway? SPEAKER_02: I mean, a little bit of both. SPEAKER_02: Okay. SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Fair enough. SPEAKER_02: This The apartment we were at at the time, they think the crime happened around three, you could see right out their window to Maddie's house. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: They also had their blinds shut, though. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Did you notice any any different cars or anything parked by their house SPEAKER_02: No. SPEAKER_00: That night or anything like that or in early in the morning or any of that? SPEAKER_00: Mm-mm. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: So you were at the so you were you worked at your apartment. SPEAKER_00: You were down a few over. SPEAKER_02: Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: What time do you go back home? SPEAKER_00: Or do you stay there? SPEAKER_02: Guess. SPEAKER_02: I went home around I think it was around 03:30. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_02: 03:45. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: So that so you went home. SPEAKER_00: Were people still showing up back from bars and parties and stuff at that point in time? SPEAKER_00: Or were you kind of SPEAKER_02: Some of the Sigma guys came over from the house because we were in, like, a Sigma cat apartment. SPEAKER_01: Okay. SPEAKER_02: But other than that, no. SPEAKER_02: There was no one coming in from the bars or anything. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_01: When you when you left the the party, is it, like, an internal apartment type thing, or do you actually, like, go outside to go back to your place? SPEAKER_02: I had to, like, walk outside, and you since it was on the Top Floor So you you just go down the stairs, and then you walk straight. SPEAKER_01: So when you walk outside, can you see the house on SPEAKER_02: No. SPEAKER_02: Because all the apartments face towards the road. SPEAKER_02: Okay. SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Do you were you up there during the summer, or did you just go go up for the semester? SPEAKER_02: Just for the semester. SPEAKER_02: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Had you heard any any problems that Maddie or Kaylee or Xana were having with anybody? SPEAKER_02: No. SPEAKER_02: They never really had problems with anyone. SPEAKER_02: Okay. SPEAKER_02: So that's what's kinda weird. SPEAKER_02: But I did report I called the police station. SPEAKER_02: I don't know if it was here or the one in Moscow, whatever the number was. SPEAKER_00: The one in Moscow. SPEAKER_00: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: That was probably who got it. SPEAKER_02: So But there was a guy who was pretty weird at the bar. SPEAKER_00: At the bar? SPEAKER_00: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Do you remember a name or anything like that or did you know him? SPEAKER_00: Or SPEAKER_02: So it kinda started because when I walked into the bar, I went to order a drink and the guy was, like, kind of pushing me against the bar. SPEAKER_02: Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: And I was like, can you please stop? SPEAKER_02: And he just kept doing it. SPEAKER_02: And some of the other our friends noticed and they're like, what is this guy's deal? SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: And then Maddie walked up to me and introduced me. SPEAKER_02: She's like, this is blah blah blah. SPEAKER_02: I can't remember his name because we meet so many people. SPEAKER_02: Sure. SPEAKER_01: But Yeah. SPEAKER_02: And I was like, oh, nice to meet you. SPEAKER_02: Like, I didn't know it was her friend. SPEAKER_02: And then I noticed the guy was following them around the bar. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: And I was like, it's pretty weird. SPEAKER_02: So I told Maddie. SPEAKER_02: Maddie's like, yeah. SPEAKER_02: He's not actually my friend. SPEAKER_02: We just have a class that, like, together and we're doing a group project. SPEAKER_02: And I was like, oh, that's pretty weird he's following us. SPEAKER_02: Like, following us around. SPEAKER_02: And she's like, yeah. SPEAKER_02: He's really weird. SPEAKER_02: And then he kept grabbing girls, like, by their butts and, like, grabbed my stomach and I talked to him, like, if you keep touching girls, like, we're gonna have an issue. SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm SPEAKER_02: gonna have to tell someone. SPEAKER_02: And he just blank like, stared at me weird and then proceeded to spit on me and my friend. SPEAKER_02: Oh. SPEAKER_02: And then he ended up getting kicked out of the club. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_01: Like, through talking and spitting or, like SPEAKER_02: Like, was yeah. SPEAKER_02: Like, we turned around and I just, like, heard spitting noises, and he was just standing there, like, spitting. SPEAKER_01: Was he he seemed pretty smashed? SPEAKER_02: He seemed like he was really weird, you know, when, like, someone's really drunk and, like, no one's there type. SPEAKER_02: But it was a little different than that. SPEAKER_02: Okay. SPEAKER_02: Like, didn't really say much at all. SPEAKER_02: He was just kind of trailing us around wherever we went. SPEAKER_00: So it seemed different than just some dude who's hammered. SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: He he seemed off. SPEAKER_00: He seemed weird and hammered? SPEAKER_00: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: And then he got thrown out? SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: I didn't see him get thrown out because we went outside to the outdoor area. SPEAKER_02: I did. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_02: But I was told that he got kicked out. SPEAKER_02: I didn't see him again. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Anybody else weird or creepy around following anybody? SPEAKER_00: Anything like that that SPEAKER_02: I don't think I noticed, but I I did remember him because Okay. SPEAKER_02: You don't really have those issues that much. SPEAKER_00: Sure. SPEAKER_00: I I could tell you that he has been talked to and he's very cooperative. SPEAKER_00: And so if that helps you or anything Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Put it out. SPEAKER_00: Because I know that there's a lot of group chats and rumors and all this other stuff going around. SPEAKER_00: And, you know, and speaking to that, is there any rumors going around that you think are are of note or worth looking into? SPEAKER_00: I know that some of it is just people just guessing and making stuff up. SPEAKER_00: But Yeah. SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes there's some stuff in there that has a little truth in it or whatever. SPEAKER_00: So SPEAKER_02: I I mean, I haven't I don't know. SPEAKER_02: A lot of it's just hearsay. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_02: Like, I I can't even say if it's accurate or not because there's so many different stories of what did and what didn't happen. SPEAKER_02: Right. SPEAKER_02: And I was close with all the girls. SPEAKER_02: Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: But, you know, unless my friends because I'm really close with all of them. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_02: So unless they told me, just don't really take it as SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_02: Anything. SPEAKER_02: But I did know there was, like, speculation over Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: I did hear about that. SPEAKER_02: That's all I really know. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: And we've we've also talked to him. SPEAKER_00: He's also very cooperative. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Did you hear any we heard this this rumor, and we're just asking people about it to see if there's any validity to it, about maybe somebody having some kind of stalker or something like that going on. SPEAKER_00: Did you hear anything like that? SPEAKER_02: I've heard briefly. SPEAKER_02: No one really knows, though. SPEAKER_02: I've only heard it twice. SPEAKER_02: But each time, it's been a different girl's stalker. SPEAKER_02: Someone would say it's one of the survivors or someone would say it was SPEAKER_00: So there's nothing really definitive or SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Similar really any similar with the story. SPEAKER_00: Just kinda SPEAKER_02: I did hear someone say that they some guy used to follow Kaylee on her walks with the dog. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_01: But And Kaylee was hanging out behind the big garbage SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: Can. SPEAKER_01: Yeah. SPEAKER_01: Trash bin thing. SPEAKER_01: Mhmm. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: How about drug use in the in their apartment? SPEAKER_00: Do you know about any SPEAKER_02: They've never did drugs SPEAKER_01: Okay. SPEAKER_02: When I was that I know of, but they were never that wasn't their thing at SPEAKER_00: all. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_01: Did you spend a lot of time in their apartment? SPEAKER_02: Or Yeah. SPEAKER_02: I was over there a lot. SPEAKER_02: Were you? SPEAKER_02: Okay. SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: Because I was supposed to go home and hang out with them there. SPEAKER_01: Was there was there always a lot of people just coming and going? SPEAKER_01: And Yeah. SPEAKER_01: So did pretty much everybody know, like, the combination down at the front door on the bottom level? SPEAKER_01: Or where did No. SPEAKER_01: Where did everybody come in? SPEAKER_02: So it kinda depends. SPEAKER_02: Like, if Maddie would call if I needed, like, borrow a shirt, I'd call Maddie and she'd be like, okay. SPEAKER_02: Here's the code. SPEAKER_02: Just type it in. SPEAKER_02: But if it's, like, a strange like, you know, someone they're not super close with, they often left their back door, like, open. SPEAKER_02: Like, I'd walk around if With the slider? SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: If that was there SPEAKER_01: in the kitchen? SPEAKER_02: Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: So if that front door wasn't working, I'd always walk around and just walk in the kitchen. SPEAKER_01: So was it pretty common that that wasn't locked? SPEAKER_01: It was just kinda open all the time? SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: Unless they were having I mean, sometimes during their parties too, it would be locked. SPEAKER_02: But usually, every time I went there, the front was locked. SPEAKER_01: And since you spent a bunch of time there, I'm I'm asking this, did did you were there always people just coming and going or was it usually just the same people that Yeah. SPEAKER_01: Some sorority member friends and stuff like that? SPEAKER_01: Or SPEAKER_02: I'd say it was never people we didn't know. SPEAKER_02: It was always like, we always were friends or we knew of or some girl in the house was friends with the people that came. SPEAKER_02: So it was usually the same people, but usually they were close to either all of us or specific people. SPEAKER_01: Was it usually people in the Greek organizations? SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: Always. SPEAKER_02: And if it wasn't, it was like, I mean, sometimes they have random people during their parties. SPEAKER_02: Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: But other than that, it was always people they knew. SPEAKER_00: Did did they have a party that day at that house? SPEAKER_02: No. SPEAKER_02: The only party I saw them at was the one next to my apartment. SPEAKER_02: And that was all Greek life too. SPEAKER_02: Was like a pretty close knit party. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_01: How about the day before, like, Friday? SPEAKER_01: I SPEAKER_02: was at the bar, so I wasn't aware of any house parties. SPEAKER_02: I wasn't I don't know if Syd and Kai had a party that night or not. SPEAKER_02: I don't I think they did Saturday maybe. SPEAKER_02: I don't know. SPEAKER_02: I I personally don't go to the house parties anymore. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_02: But usually, Maddie and Kaylee would just go to the bar if they did go out. SPEAKER_02: But I know Xana and her boyfriend would go to house parties if they were because were underage. SPEAKER_01: Mhmm. SPEAKER_01: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: How how come you don't go to house parties anymore out of curiosity? SPEAKER_02: I mean, it just kinda depends on the house party. SPEAKER_02: Like, if it's Maddie's and theirs, I'll come by or if it's like a birthday and stuff. SPEAKER_02: But usually, we just kind of like as the younger kids flow in, the older kids just kinda go to the bar. SPEAKER_02: But sometimes we'd go to Sigma Chi or the Delts. SPEAKER_02: If they were our close friends, then we'd go. SPEAKER_02: Okay. SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't go to, like, a random house party or anything like that. SPEAKER_02: Got it. SPEAKER_00: Got it. SPEAKER_00: Can you think of anything that would be helpful for us going forward? SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_02: So I know He did call me and text me at 304 So if that's helpful. SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: At at 03:04, he texted you? SPEAKER_02: Yeah. SPEAKER_00: Just out of the blue, or was he asking something specific? SPEAKER_00: No. SPEAKER_02: He's just asking what I was doing and where we were where were we at. SPEAKER_00: Did he think you were still with everybody? SPEAKER_00: Or SPEAKER_02: No. SPEAKER_02: Well, so he went I know he was at grub truck with them. SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh. SPEAKER_02: So I personally don't know who he was with when he texted me, but we were still I don't think he knew who I was with either, really. SPEAKER_02: But I grew up with Jay. SPEAKER_02: So SPEAKER_00: Oh, you know him? SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_01: Okay. SPEAKER_01: You know most of the Sigma Chi guys? SPEAKER_02: A majority of them. SPEAKER_02: Once again Oh, yeah. SPEAKER_02: I think he's dating SPEAKER_00: Okay. SPEAKER_00: Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: I think he was over at the apartment with me actually for a little. SPEAKER_02: He was one of the kids that came over during the Sigma guys Mhmm. SPEAKER_02: During that time frame. SPEAKER_02: But I don't know where they were at before or where they I know they went home after. SPEAKER_01: Okay. SPEAKER_01: But He was with your did you say your SP