May 1, 2017, 3:24 p.m.
Case #75932.394.1
OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTION OF POLICE INTERVIEW
—START PAGE 9—
| INVESTIGATOR: | Let the record show that we’re looking at a series of tweets directed at @911LAPD. The tweets originated from a Twitter user listed under the name Taylor. The username on the account is @EricThornSucks. |
| THORN: | What the hell? That account was deactivated. |
| INVESTIGATOR 2: | You’re familiar with this Twitter account? |
| THORN: | The FBI shut it down after Tessa murdered me. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | It appears that it’s been reactivated. |
| THORN: | How? |
| INVESTIGATOR 2: | Once the FBI took it off the hold list, anyone with a password could have— |
| THORN: | The password was “password.” I never changed it. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Who else knew that password? |
| THORN: | Me. Tessa. The Midland Texas Police Department. And Blair. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Blair Duncan? |
| THORN: | Yes. This is the account I was telling you about. The one he hacked before! |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Interesting. Eric, I’m going to read these tweets into the record, and I want you to tell me if anything jumps out at you. These tweets commenced approximately twenty minutes ago at 4:29 p.m. The first one reads, and I quote: “@911LAPD Crime in progress. Send police to 83 Kirkwood Drive in Hollywood! Hurry!” |
| THORN: | Wait a minute. That’s my house. That’s my address! |
| INVESTIGATOR: | We’re aware of that. We have units responding. |
| THORN: | You’re just responding now? Someone sent this twenty minutes ago! |
| INVESTIGATOR 2: | As I said, the @911LAPD Twitter account isn’t monitored in real time. The dispatcher happened to notice— |
| THORN: | What else did they say? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | The tweets continue every few seconds. There are quite a few of them. I’ll read the most relevant ones into the record as I scroll through. Time stamp 4:33 p.m., and I quote: “@911LAPD Tessa Hart has been taken to 83 Kirkwood Drive in Hollywood. She’s with two men. The big one just tied her up.” |
| THORN: | Two? Two men? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Time stamp 4:35 p.m., and I quote: “@911LAPD It’s a short guy in a navy pin-striped suit and a HUGE one in gray pants with a black blazer. They’re both laughing.” |
| THORN: | That’s Maury and Clint! |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Clint? |
| THORN: | Clinton Darrow. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | The football player? |
| THORN: | Retired. He’s my bodyguard now. Maury hired him last year for extra protection. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | OK. I’m continuing with the messages. Time stamp 4:36 p.m., and I quote: “@911LAPD They’re talking about some woman being dead. The sound isn’t very good.” Time stamp 4:36 p.m.: “@911LAPD I think the short one just said he did it.” Time stamp 4:37 p.m.: “@911LAPD He just told Tessa that someone has to take the fall.” |
| THORN: | Maury. Maury did it. He’s framing her! |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Time stamp 4:37 p.m.: “@911LAPD She’s screaming. TESSA’S SCREAMING FOR HELP. POLICE! WHERE ARE YOU? PLEASE HELP HER.” |
| THORN: | Oh my God. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Time stamp 4:38 p.m.: “@911LAPD The big one just gagged her with duct tape.” |
| THORN: | Please tell me this is a hoax. Please tell me this isn’t real. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Time stamp 4:39 p.m.: “@911LAPD The big one left the room. I can’t see what he’s doing. The short one is playing with the TV remote.” Time stamp 4:40 p.m.: “@911LAPD HELLO? IS ANYONE THERE? IS ANYONE READING THIS?” |
| THORN: | That one was ten minutes ago. Did someone go to the house? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Hold on. I’ll ask dispatch for an update. |
| THORN: | What else? What else does it say? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Roger that. |
| THORN: | Can I see the laptop? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | [unintelligible] |
| THORN: | No. No, no, no. It just says he lost the video feed. Maury turned it off somehow. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | I see. Which hospital? |
| THORN: | What? Tessa? Did they find her? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | I’ll tell him. Over and out. |
| THORN: | Tell me! |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Eric, I think you better sit down. |
| THORN: | Just tell me! Is she OK? What happened to her? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | Officers responded to 83 Kirkwood Drive in Hollywood at approximately 4:49 p.m. Ms. Hart was found unresponsive in the upstairs bedroom. She appears to have ingested a large dose of phenobarbital. |
| THORN: | No. |
| INVESTIGATOR: | She left an apparent suicide note on the bedside writing pad that stated, and I quote: “Tell Eric I’m sorry. Good-bye.” |
| THORN: | What? No, that was fake. They forced her. Please, please tell me she’s not— |
| INVESTIGATOR: | She’s been rushed to Cedars Sinai Medical Center. |
| THORN: | She’s alive though? Is she going to be OK? |
| INVESTIGATOR: | She’s in the ambulance now. They’re doing everything they can. |