THIS IS DETECTIVE BRYN RIDGE OF THE WEST MEMPHIS POLICE DEPARTMENT CURRENTLY IN CROSS COUNTY JAIL IN WYNNE, ARKANSAS TODAY'S DATE 10-23 OF 93 THE TIME 10:54 A.M. IN CROSS COUNTY JAIL WITH REX ALLEN HEATH AND DETECTIVE BILL DURHAM, MR. HEATH BASICALLY WE'VE HEAR ASKING QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE TRIPLE HOMICIDE OF TEH THREE 8 YEAR OLD BOYS THAT OCCUR IN WEST MEMPHIS ARE YOU AWARE THAT?
HEATH - YES SIR
RIDGE - OKAY, ARE YOU AWARE THIS CONVERSATION IS BEING TAPED?
HEATH - YES
RIDGE - IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU?
HEATH - YES IS
RIDGE - OKAY, UM THE EVENTS THAT WE'VE CONCERNED WITH CONCERN BUDDY LUCAS UH YOU KNOW BUDDY LUCAS?
HEATH - YES SIR
RIDGE - OKAY, IS HE A RELATIVE OF YOURS?
HEATH - YES SIR
RIDGE - AND HOE DOES THAT WORK?
HEATH - HE'S MY.... MY AUNTS SON
RIDGE - OKAY
HEATH - ON MAMA'S
RIDGE - OKAY, SO HE WOULD BE A COUSIN?
HEATH - YES SIR
RIDGE - OKAY, UM, DURING THE EARLY PART OF MAY EVEN BACK A LITTLE BEFORE THAT IN APRIL YOU HAD OCCASIONS WHEN YOU WERE STAYING AT THAT RESIDENCE?
HEATH - YES
RIDGE - THE RESIDENCE OF MARY IS THAT HER NAME?
HEATH - MARY HUDSON
RIDGE - AND BUDDY LUCAS
HEATH - YES SIR
RIDGE - OKAY, DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME THERE WAS SOME OCCASIONS WHEN SOME BARBECUE WAS COOKED AND WHAT OCCURRED WITH THAT BARBECUE?
HEATH - WELL I JUST WENT OVER THERE AND ASK JESSIE HIS DADDY DID HE WANT SOME CHICKEN HE SAID YEA, THE BOY JUST CARRIED A PLATE OF CHICKEN OVER THERE
RIDGE - WHO ACCOMPANIED YOU WHEN YOU WENT OVER THERE?
HEATH - UH, ME AND (INAUDIBLE) LITTLE BUD, MY UNCLE BUDDY WILSON
RIDGE - OKAY, AND WHEN THAT OCCURRED DO YOU KNOW IF LITTLE JESSIE WAS THERE?
HEATH - AT THAT TIME NO
RIDGE - OKAY, NOW ARE YOU CERTAIN OF WHEN THAT OCCURRED?
HEATH - NO SIR
RIDGE - OKAY, I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE ALL READY TALKED ABOUT THIS AND YOUR FAIRLY CERTAIN THAT OCCURRED BEFORE MAY THE 5TH WHEN THE MURDERS ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE IN WEST MEMPHIS
HEATH - YES
RIDGE - BUT IT DID OCCUR THAT YOU WENT OVER WITH BUDDY AND THIS OTHER GENTLEMAN AND YOU TOOK SOME CHICKEN OVER THERE?
HEATH - YES
RIDGE - DO YOU REMEMBER MAY THE 5TH?
HEATH - YES SIR
RIDGE - DO YOU REMEMBER THAT DAY ON THE 5TH, DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU DID THAT DAY?
HEATH - RAISED SOME WALLS ON A HOUSE
RIDGE - WHO WERE WORKING IN CONSTRUCTION WORK?
HEATH - YES
RIDGE - OKAY, DO YOU REMEMBER SPECIFICALLY WHETHER YOU MAY HAVE GONE OVER TO JESSIE'S ON THAT DATE?
HEATH - NO SIR
RIDGE - YOU DON'T REMEMBER?
HEATH - I DIDN'T GO THAT DAY
RIDGE - YOU DIDN'T GO OVER THERE THAT DAY?
HEATH - DIDN'T GO OVER THERE
RIDGE - OKAY, THAT'S WHAT I'M GETTING TO, BUT YOU HAVE BEEN THERE ON OCCASION WITH BUDDY?
HEATH - ONE TIME
RIDGE - OKAY, SO WHEN BUDDY TELLS US THAT HE BELIEVES THAT THE DATE ON THE 5TH THAT HE WENT OVER THERE WITH YOU, HE DID GO OVER THERE WITH YOU, BUT IT WASN'T ON THAT DATE?
HEATH - RIGHT
RIDGE - OKAY, UM, HAS BUDDY EVER MENTIONED TO YOU ANYTHING ABOUT ANY KIND OF CLOTHING OR SHOES OR ANYTHING HE MAY HAVE GOTTEN FROM JESSIE?
HEATH - I KNOW THEY WERE WEARING THEM ALL THE TIME THEY SWAP CLOTHES
RIDGE - THEY SWAP CLOTHES, OKAY SO THAT'S NOT UNUSUALLY?
HEATH - NO SIR
RIDGE - OKAY, UM, DID YOU EVER REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT A PAIR OF SHOES THAT BUDDY MAY HAVE GOTTEN FROM JESSIE?
HEATH - UM, NO SIR
RIDGE - DON'T REMEMBER?
HEATH - NO SIR, THEY..... THEY WEAR CLOTHES, SHOES AND THEY SWAP ALL THE TIME WITH EACH OTHERS CLOTHES
RIDGE - OKAY, ALRIGHT, UM, SO WHEN IF BUDDY WERE TO SAY THAT HE REMEMBERS THAT DATE THAT THE MURDERS OCCURRED AND HE THOUGHT THAT WAS THE DATE THAT YOU WENT WITH HIM, THEN YOUR PROBABLY THINKING HE'S IN ERROR, KNOWING THAT YOU HAVE BEEN THERE WITH HIM BEFORE?
HEATH - YES
RIDGE - OKAY, BUT HE PROBABLY WAS THERE ON THE 5TH IF HE REMEMBERS HE WAS
HEATH - HE THINKS I WAS, BUT I WASN'T
RIDGE - OKAY, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO KNOW, UM, IS THERE ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THIS HOMICIDE, HAVE YOU HEARD ANY RUMORS OF ABOUT WHO MAY HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR IT?
HEATH - NO SIR
RIDGE - OKAY, YOU KNEW JESSIE?
HEATH - YES SIR
RIDGE - OKAY, WAS HE A RELATIVE OR JUST A FRIEND?
HEATH - JUST A FRIEND
RIDGE - ALRIGHT, JESSIE SR. DID YOU KNOW HIM?
HEATH - I KNOW BOTH OF THEM
RIDGE - YOU KNEW BOTH OF THEM, AND YOU KNEW JESSIE UM, THE KID, JESSIE JUNIOR
HEATH - UH-HUH
RIDGE - HE ACTUALLY KEPT YOUR KIDS ON OCCASION?
HEATH - YES
RIDGE - OKAY, AND HE HAD A OPINION YOU REQUESTED TO TELL ME WHILE AGO?
HEATH - WELL I DON'T, I DON'T THINK IT WAS HIM
RIDGE - YOU JUST DIDN'T THINK HE WOULD HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT?
HEATH - NOTHING LIKE THAT
RIDGE - OKAY
HEATH - I'VE BEEN KNOWING HIM EVER SINCE 8 9 YEARS OLD
RIDGE - OKAY, AND IT JUST SEEM LIKE IT WAS OUT OF CHARACTER?
HEATH - YES
RIDGE - OKAY, IN KNOWING JESSIE JR. IF HE WERE INVOLVED WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT IF HE HAD MADE A MISTAKE DO YOU THINK HE WOULD HAVE EVENTFULLY TOLD ABOUT IT? DO YOU THINK HE'S THE KIND PERSON THAT COULD OF HID THE FACT THAT HE WAS INVOLVED IN SOMETHING LIKE THIS?
HEATH - I BELIEVE HE WOULD HAVE COME OUT AND TOLD PEOPLE
RIDGE - YOU THINK HE WOULD HAVE?
HEATH - YES SIR
RIDGE - OKAY, UH, DAMIEN DID YOU KNOW HIM?
HEATH - NO SIR
RIDGE - DIDN'T KNOW HIM AT ALL?
HEATH - DIDN'T KNOW HIM AT ALL
RIDGE - OKAY, JASON?
HEATH - NO SIR
RIDGE - OKAY, UM, SO FROM OUR CONVERSATIONS WHAT I'VE HEARD SO FAR, BUDDY AND JESSIE WERE VERY CLOSE?
HEATH - THEY WERE REAL CLOSE FRIENDS
RIDGE - IT'S LIKE A DAY WOULDN'T OF RAN BY THAT THEY WOULDN'T HAVE SEEN EACH?
HEATH - THEY SEEN ABOUT EVERY DAY
RIDGE - EVERYDAY, OKAY, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU CANE THINK OF WE NEED TO INCLUDE IN THIS INTERVIEW?
HEATH - THAT'S ALL I BELIEVE IN JESSIE.
RIDGE - OKAY, ALRIGHT, I'LL CONCLUDE THE INTERVIEW IF YOU GOT ANY QUESTIONS WE NEED COVER? I'LL CONCLUDE THE INTERVIEW THE TIME IS 11 P.M. OR 11 A.M. OKAY THIS IS DET RIDGE BACK ON THE TAPE AGAIN AT 11:01, REX YOU GOT A SHEET IN FRONT OF YOU A STATEMENT OF REX ALLEN HEATH AND BASICALLY IT SAYS THAT YOU MEANT WITH US TODAY HERE AND THAT YOU DID GIVE A TAPE RECORDED STATEMENT
HEATH - YES SIR
RIDGE - ALRIGHT, WHEN YOU SIGNED THIS I ASK YOU ONE MORE QUESTION THAT IF JESSIE HAD TOLD ANYBODY ABOUT THIS OCCURRENCE ABOUT THIS CRIME IF HE WAS INVOLVED IN IT WHO WOULD HE HAVE TOLD?
HEATH - BUDDY LUCAS, LITTLE BUD, LITTLE BUD
RIDGE - IF HE HAD TOLD ANYBODY IN THE WORLD ABOUT THIS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LITTLE?
HEATH - LITTLE BUD
RIDGE - OKAY, THAT'S WHAT I NEEDED TO TELL UM, I GOING TO GO AHEAD AND CONCLUDE THE INTERVIEW THE TIME IS 11:02.
