May 1, 2017, 2:19 p.m.
Case #75932.394.1
OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTION OF POLICE INTERVIEW
—START PAGE 5—
| INVESTIGATOR: | Ms. Hart, I need to ask you your whereabouts on the afternoon and evening of April 30. |
| HART: | Yesterday? I don’t know. I spent most of the day hiding out in Eric’s trailer at the video shoot. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Did you leave the trailer at any point? |
| HART: | I left before he got back. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Where did you go? |
| HART: | A hotel. Eric’s driver took me. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Which hotel? |
| HART: | Some motel in West Hollywood. I forget what it was called. Something Spanish. Del Mar? Del Vista? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | West Hollywood? Not far from Beverly Hills? |
| HART: | If you say so. I don’t know my way around LA that well. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | What’s the name of the driver who took you? |
| HART: | Clint. He’s Eric’s bodyguard. He can probably tell you what motel if you ask him. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | But you yourself can’t tell us the name of the establishment where you spent last night? |
| HART: | I don’t remember. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | And you arrived at this motel around what time? |
| HART: | Maybe four in the afternoon. I’m not sure. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Did you leave your room at any other point that evening? |
| HART: | No. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Did you talk to anyone while you were there? |
| HART: | I texted my mom, and I Snapchatted with Eric for a little bit. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Did you speak to anyone in person? |
| HART: | No. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | You didn’t order yourself a pizza or anything like that? |
| HART: | No. Nothing. I wasn’t very hungry. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Tessa, can you think of anyone who might be able to corroborate your whereabouts last night? |
| HART: | Just Clint. And Eric. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Eric saw you that evening? |
| HART: | No, but we chatted. I told him I was staying at a hotel for the night. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | But you didn’t tell him any more specifics? |
| HART: | No. I was kind of upset. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | You didn’t tell him the name of the motel? |
| HART: | No. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | A motel in West Hollywood with a Spanish-sounding name. |
| HART: | Right. I think so. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | You’re not certain? |
| HART: | I don’t know. Like I said, I was kind of upset. I wasn’t really thinking about the name of the motel. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | You were upset about somewhere Eric was going that evening. Is that correct? |
| HART: | What? No, I don’t think… What do you mean? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Were you aware of Eric’s plans last night? |
| HART: | No. Not really. He just said he had to do something at nine. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | You didn’t ask him what? |
| HART: | We don’t usually make a habit of interrogating each other. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | OK, Tessa. Let me ask you this. At what point yesterday evening did you go to the Beverly Hilton? |
| HART: | What? I didn’t. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Did you go there before or after you Snapchatted with Eric? |
| HART: | I didn’t. I never went to the Beverly Hilton! |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Are you sure? |
| HART: | I told you, I didn’t leave my room all night. I didn’t go anywhere. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Tessa, are you aware that a woman was found dead in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel last night at approximately 9:00 p.m.? |
| HART: | No. I don’t know anything about that! I was nowhere near— |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Eric didn’t tell you? |
| HART: | Eric? Wh-why would Eric… |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Eric was the one who found the body. |
| HART: | Wait, what? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | But you weren’t aware that Eric had plans to meet a woman in her hotel room yesterday. Correct? [pause] Tessa, is that your statement? |
| HART: | I don’t…I don’t know anything about it. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | You didn’t intercept any Twitter direct messages setting up a rendezvous between Eric and a woman? |
| HART: | No, of course not. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | However, you do have access to the Twitter account with username @EricThorn. Yes? |
| HART: | Yes, but I never look at the DMs. Not after…after what happened. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Tessa, have you and Eric talked since yesterday? |
| HART: | No. He’s busy shooting his video. We were supposed to talk later. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | I see. Let’s go over your movements one more time. You say you checked into a motel room yesterday at 4:00 p.m. and did not leave again at any point that evening. You are unable to provide the name of the motel or anyone who could corroborate your story. Is that correct? |
| HART: | Whatever. It doesn’t matter. You obviously don’t believe me anyway. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Tessa, what exactly did you do at the motel all evening? |
| HART: | I took a nap. I texted my mom. I surfed the Internet. I chatted with Eric. Then I went to sleep again. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | What time did you go to sleep? |
| HART: | I have no idea! |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Did you take any medication to help you sleep? |
| HART: | No. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Have you ever taken any medication to help you relax? |
| HART: | Sometimes. But not…not lately. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | What kind of medication? |
| HART: | Ativan. It was prescribed to me. I have an anxiety disorder. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Are you currently under psychiatric care? |
| HART: | No. Not since last winter. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Who was treating you last winter? |
| HART: | My psychotherapist in Texas. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Dr. Laura Regan? |
| HART: | Yes. How did you— |
| INVESTIGATOR: | And what other drugs did Dr. Regan prescribe for you besides Ativan? |
| HART: | Nothing else. Just some behavioral psychotherapy. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | So if we were to call up Dr. Regan right now, she would confirm that you were never prescribed anything other than Ativan? |
| HART: | No, she’ll probably tell you to talk to her malpractice attorney. That’s what she told the police in Midland. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Tessa, did Dr. Regan or any other physician ever prescribe you a drug called phenobarbital? |
| HART: | No, that’s a barbiturate. That’s like a hard-core sedative. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | How do you know that? |
| HART: | I don’t know, I read about stuff. It relaxes me. I’m thinking about majoring in psych if I go to college. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Were you ever given phenobarbital? |
| HART: | No! Why do you keep asking about phenobarbital? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | As you said, it’s a sedative. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for such a drug to be prescribed to a patient experiencing an acute emotional disturbance. |
| HART: | I was never given phenobarbital, OK? Just Ativan. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Do you have any idea why our victim might have had phenobarbital in her system at the time of death? |
| HART: | I told you, I don’t know anything about that! Maybe she was a junkie. I don’t know! |
| INVESTIGATOR: | OK, Tessa. Calm down. Let’s go back over your statement. You say you spent the afternoon in Eric Thorn’s private trailer. You then got a ride from a limo driver with no last name who took you to an unknown motel in the vicinity of— |
| HART: | Am I under arrest? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Not at this time. |
| HART: | Am I free to go? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | We just have a few more questions. Please bear with me if you don’t mind. |
| HART: | No. I think I’m done now. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | That’s fine, Ms. Hart. You’re free to go. If I were you, I wouldn’t make any plans to leave town. |