DRS PRODUCTIONS “DEATH ROW STORIES” INTERVIEW WITH CURTIS DAVIS MEDIA ID: THS_62415_09.OGG TC_16_25_11_20160414_DAVIS_1, TC_16_58_18_20160414_DAVIS_2 MALE #1: 16:25:36:00 Tell me your name and what your title is? CURTIS: 16:25:41:00 My name is Curtis Davis. I work at the Bastrop County Sherriff’s office as a Criminal Investigator. MALE #1: 16:26:18:00 So take me back with you to the mid nineties and tell me what Bastrop was like. CURTIS: 16:26:25:00 Bastrop back there in the mid nineties was very uh, a rural type of setting. Uh, we were basically the-the room and board for Travis County. Uh, people came and lived there and then worked in Travis County, for the most part Austin. And uh, so there wasn’t a lot to even do. Matter of fact the only restaurant that was open 24 hours there in Bastrop at the time was the Water Burger. And uh, the Pig Grill and uh, so uh, those are the only two things that you had a choice of if you were working nights in “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-71443--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 2 of 63 Bastrop County because those were the only two things open. CURTIS: 16:27:05:00 All the other convenience stores and everything closed down overnight. So uh, to kind of give you a setting of the idea that’s behind what was a available back there it was large ranching, farming community, rural type living, rural type subdivisions and uh, that was pretty much the makeup of the 1990s of Bastrop. MALE #1: 16:27:28:00 Do you know what the- I mean they call it the Lost Pines Region and I, uh- This is a test. I’m just curious if you know what uh, Lost Pines are? CURTIS: 16:27:37:00 Lost Pines would be that you’re driving on the highway and all of a sudden there’s a bunch of lo-lost pines. There’s a bunch of trees that just kind of seemed like they didn’t quite belong and it would be the-the pine trees of that area. And uh, so that’s pretty much where the Lost Pines came from. MALE #1: 16:27:54:00 Hmm. So when did you get involved in uh, the police force. “You Say It, We Type It” I mean you were in ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 3 of 63 training. Well let me start; when-when did you first meet Jimmy Fennell? CURTIS: 16:28:07:00 Uh, I had started working, when I met Jimmy Fennell I had started working at the Bastrop County Jail and uh, he was also a-a jailor at the time and I think he hired on maybe a week earlier than I did. And uh, we worked the same shift together. MALE #1: 16:28:24:00 Didn’t you guys, uh, go to the academy together? CURTIS: 116:28:27:00 We later went on to the academy together. Uh, I think it was probably about a year later uh, the Bastrop County Sherriff’s Office sponsored an uh, a police academy there at the office which was pretty handy. And uh, at that point me, Jimmy, several other uh, people that worked the jail and around the community uh, of Bastrop uh, went to that academy. MALE #1: 16:28:51:00 So if you’re jailers together, does that mean you guys get to spend a lot of time together or are you working different shifts or what’s it like? “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 4 of 63 CURTIS: 16:29:01:00 As a jailor you get to spend a lot of time together. Um, the shifts that we worked at Bastrop back then and still currently today were 12 hour shifts. And uh, you would work a rotation of every other weekend off which consisted of a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And the rotation on Monday and Tuesday would also fall into that as far as uh, being off on Wednesday and Thursday. So it just rotated over and over again but we worked 12 hours shifts and yes we were together. Uh, back in those days uh, the jail basically when you walked in it shut the door behind you and you were there all day. CURTIS: 16:29:40:00 And it shut the door behind you when you walked out. Um, they fed us. You know we ate at the jail; we worked the jail, if we had to go to the restroom it was in the jail. Um, so yes we spent a lot of time together. MALE #1: 16:29:57:00 So tell me about Jimmy, what-what kind of guy was he like? CURTIS: 16:30:01:00 Jimmy Fennell was a very quiet individual. I mean he- I often-often sensed him as the follower type. “You Say It, We Type It” He-he uh, was very quiet. ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 5 of 63 Uh, he-he enjoyed the fact that he was looking to become a police officer some day. Uh, that’s what we talked about uh, that’s what we visited about. goal. Uh, it was-it was a And uh, that’s got to start somewhere and for both of us it seemed like the jail was a good start. It was uh- It was back then real easy to get hired on particularly Bastrop in the jail. CURTIS: 16:30:40:00 Um, so it was a good fit. started working. We got on, we Uh, Jimmy is such you know took care of his people, took care of his inmates. I didn’t know him necessarily to be mean or anything like that. Um, he took care of his business you know. Uh, very precise, he liked being precise in his paperwork and things along those lines but a very-very laid back, very quiet person. MALE #1: 16:31:10:00 When you say he was more of a follower, tell me a little bit what you mean? CURTIS: 16:31:17:00 He-he wasn’t the type to jump up and rah-rah in front of a crowd. He wasn’t the one to jump up and say uh, “This is what we ought to do, gang charge ahead, let’s go.” wasn’t that guy. He Um, he was more the guy, “Let’s sit back and see what they’re fixing “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 6 of 63 to say. Let’s see what they’re fixing to tell us to do. You know let’s-let’s-let’s follow directions, follow directives.” That’s the guy I’m talking about. MALE #1: 16:31:41:00 Why do you think Jimmy wanted to be a-a-an officer so-so badly? CURTIS: 16:31:48:00 Uh, Jimmy wanted to be an officer is a good question. I-I’m not sure that I even have an answer for that. I know we compared thoughts um, back then, back during those days. Of course you know the-the-the little show of uh, COPS. And that was a very prevalent show on-on TV at the time and-and for-for him he was obviously way younger than I was and-and yet our interests were still going towards the same directions and that was that we had a goal that we wanted to meet. And uh, probably the interest in seeing COPS. CURTIS: 16:32:30:00 Having-having and being around cops in my family uh, we just talked about that all the time. And then of course once you started working in a corrections environment you deal with the cops on a daily basis and you see them and you see them what possibly on what you would like to be; your dream. “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- And www.dailytranscription.com Page 7 of 63 uh, that’s- it kind of drives you a little bit more I guess. MALE #1: 16:32:55:00 What is it about that that you think was attractive to him? CURTIS: 16:32:59:00 Being a police officer? The honest opinion of I believe anybody that would want to be a police officer um, again I can’t speak for him. I don’t know exactly why he wanted to be a police officer. I-I would say that there is a certain amount of uh, prestige you know a-at least back those days uh of being a police officer. You’re a police officer, you’re a cop and particularly you know in a rural area uh, the respect level for law enforcement is generally pretty high. And so to have a respect level of-of people of the community, people that you associate with, you got the store with. CURTIS: 16:33:42:00 They see you, they know you’re the police officer in the area; it-it was probably alluring because of that factor you know for-for Jimmy, you know. MALE #1: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 8 of 63 16:33:56:00 Did uh, did he tell you when he started seeing Stacey, do you remember if he talked about that? CURTIS: 16:34:03:00 Yes he talked about that. MALE #1: 16:34:04:00 Tell me about that? CURTIS: 16:34:04:00 Jimmy-Jimmy talked about seeing Stacey. MALE #1: 16:34:06:00 I’m sorry you’re going to have to start over, Jimmy? CURTIS: 16:34:08:00 Yeah Jimmy talked about seeing Stacey uh, probably the first time he met her. Um, I believe the story goes and-and you’re going to have to excuse. It’s been 20 years but I believe the story goes that uh, he’d met her at a softball game and they talked, and talking let to going and getting drink together. Uh, I believe the drink was non- alcoholic; I believe it was actually soda water and that’s what he made fun of. He said, “We went and got a drink together and all we got was a coke.” “She was pretty cool. He said but he said She’s pretty, she’s attractive, and-and she was very- seems very “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 9 of 63 outgoing.” And he made a comment that first conversation with me that has always stuck in my mind and that is that he said he could see himself being with somebody like this the rest of his life. CURTIS: 16:34:58:00 And I just kind of looked at him and said, “I’ve been married for a long time, you might want to look into this.” You know. So. MALE #1: 16:35:05:00 And do you remember when you first met her? CURTIS: 16:35:08:00 Uh, the first time I met her she came to one of our academy classes. MALE #1: 16:35:14:00 Can you start that over and use her name? CURTIS: 16:35:15:00 Yes, yes. The first time I met Stacey she came to one of our academy classes and uh, came to visit Jimmy, drop off something Jimmy; dinner or something. recall. I don’t really Uh, but she came up there and he introduced me directly to her at that point. And again big smile, big eyes uh, a very attractive young lady. “You Say It, We Type It” Um, I could see why ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 10 of 63 he was-he was you know looking forward to being with her someday maybe. MALE #1: 16:35:45:00 So you and your wife and family kind of got to know her as well, got to know them as a couple; tell me about that? CURTIS: 16:35:53:00 Sure. My wife and my family we got to know Stacey and uh, even Jimmy a little bit more through uh, the ongoing medium of partners. And we-we became very good friends. Um, at the time my friends were my brothers. I didn’t really have anybody outside of my family as friends. This was the first friend outside of high school that-that I actually enjoyed being around. We shared the same interests uh, we-we went hunting, we went shooting, we-we went fishing. these were things we did. Um, And of course once he started dating Stacey then Stacey was along on some of those situations. CURTIS: 16:36:34:00 Uh, the hunting, the shooting, the fishing. Uh, just sitting around shooting the bull. You know uh, she would be around for some of those and uh, so we got to talk to her and interact with her. Um, at the time my-my daughter was 12 years old and she was involved and volleyball and-and sports and “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 11 of 63 stuff at school. And learned that Stacey had also been involved in volleyball and sports at school and so they kind of hit it off. And-and she kind of took my daughter as a little friend, type of thing and every time she come over they talked. CURTIS: 16:37:12:00 So it-it was a very pleasant relationship. MALE #1: 16:37:17:00 So it sounds like you um, like you really got to know Stacey a bit. Tell me-tell me your impressions of her, what she was like uh, you know her character. What was Stacey like? CURTIS: 16:37:31:00 Stacey’s character was-was one of uh... I could see her fitting in very well at the time with Jimmy. She was somebody first off I could stand to be around. So it was-it was pleasant to have her... if I’m going to be with Jimmy, if we’re going to do guy stuff together then it was always nice to have our women get along together too. And of course my wife was older than Stacey too but they were talking. talk. They were able to They were able to visit. got along with-with my family. They- she That was first and foremost very important. “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- Um, the www.dailytranscription.com Page 12 of 63 second part of that would be her personality was just very outgoing. CURTIS: 16:38:14:00 Very outgoing. Uh, the first time she came over to our home we had had a dinner and it was-it was and fortunately dinner at my house there’s plates everywhere I mean because there’s a big family. And Stacey was the first one to jump up and start cleaning the table off you know. And-and- and fully assisted my daughter, by telling my daughter. It just happened my daughters night and my-my boys wash cl- wash dishes too but uh, it just happened to be my daughters night to wash the dishes. And uh, she jumped up and told Kim, “I’m going to help you.” And they did, they started helping each other. And uh, I remember laughing and cutting up and I mean we’re talking about a 12 year old and what she was 19, 21 years old something around there at that time. CURTIS: 16:38:56:00 And, uh, they’re giggling and cutting up just like little girls you know at the sink. And I remember those pictures, I remember those thoughts and they’re very pleasant. Um, again I... thirdly I guess I would say if I was looking for somebody for my buddy, my friend at the time I would want somebody “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 13 of 63 that-that was going to take care of him. That was going to care about him and his-his goals and his dreams and that’s exactly what she did. She promoted him, she pushed him uh, she directed. She would get on him with that finger and uh, Jimmy did it because he knew that’s what- that was what was expected of him. CURTIS: 16:39:41:00 And Stacey expected him to-to do the best he could and-and he always did. her rule. You know under So um, I guess that would be the three top items that I would probably list as far as Stacey’s uh, personality and-and how she dealt with people. MALE #1: 16:39:57:00 Hmm, now how did you find out that she was missing? CURTIS: 16:40:07:00 I’d actually come to work that morning and when I walked in I saw Jimmy standing in what was kind of our break room there... well it’s not kind, it is the break room there at the Sherriff’s office and uh, that was odd. First off I knew he didn’t work there anymore, what is he doing here? And he was standing by himself and I said basically exactly that; “What are you doing here?” “You Say It, We Type It” And his ex- first words out of his ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 14 of 63 mouth was “Stacey’s missing. her.” “Oh okay.” We can’t find And as I took that in um, I didn’t know what to think. You know we-we live in a world particularly in law enforcement where the first thing we think of is the criminal side. CURTIS: 16:40:53:00 And so what could’ve happened to her because she-she also in a personality trait that she had was working very hard at the time at-at the local store that we have there in town. And um, early hours, late hours; that was nothing for her. And for her not to be at work or for them not to be able to find her at work was totally outside the pocket. And so that would’ve been the first real feeling of loss that’s something’s not right. So. MALE #1: 16:41:31:00 Let me take you back a second. Did uh, did he tell you when they had first gotten engaged? Do-do your remember that or? CURTIS: 16:41:31:00 Oh he talked about that all the time. MALE #1: 16:41:31:00 What-what did he talk about when he talked about it. CURTIS: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 15 of 63 16:41:41:00 Yeah he... can I get a drink. MALE #1: 16:41:47:00 It’s a weird way to have a conversation I know. CURTIS: 16:41:50:00 Yeah, I know where we’re going though. Jimmy approached me and told me that uh, he had uh, finally decided that Stacey was going to be the one and that they’d actually talked about marriage. And he told me that uh, he was going to ask her to marry him and that uh, they would be engaged roughly probably by the plan uh, what would be about a year. MALE #1: 16:42:20:00 Cool. CURTIS: 16:42:20:00 And uh, that’s kind of how I was told. And then uh, I believe we had a dinner... MALE #1: 16:42:26:00 Sorry. CURTIS: 16:42:42:00 We did a dinner uh, sometime later and kind of... because we always had dinners to have official things. You know and-and you know my family, baptisms, graduations, things “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 16 of 63 like that; well this was one of those dinners. You know it was-it was important to us, it was important to the family and so we had a fish fry and we invited them both over and you know she got to show us the ring and she was you know exhibitant [PH] to my daughter you know looky here and just like giddy little girls. I mean it just-it was a very happy moment. CURTIS: 16:43:16:00 And uh, we had a-we had a big feed that night, big dinner and uh, and from there we knew they were-they were going to be together. MALE #1: 16:43:26:00 Now Stacey was working real hard; I think she had switched to the morning shift. Tell me why Stacey was working so hard at the time? CURTIS: 16:43:34:00 Stacey was working pretty hard at the time all of this had-had come to a head and that is that um, she was working at the store and had changed her hours so that she could make a little bit more money uh, so that she could help support further her own wedding because her mother didn’t have a whole lot of means at the time. And so she took it upon herself to-to pay for that wedding. “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 17 of 63 And instead of just saying “Hey let’s run down to the JP and go get married for 50 bucks?” or whatever it was back then. She still wanted to have that big wedding uh, wedding dress, the-the reception, the-the little girl dream I guess you would say. CURTIS: 16:44:17:00 And because of that um, she did take on extra-extra duty, extra time and extra money because she took these shift uh, differential. MALE #1: 16:46:40:00 Tell me again why she was working so hard? CURTIS: 16:46:42:00 Stacey was working pretty hard at the time uh, uh, of their engagement and just after because she was uh, trying to uh, pay for her own wedding. Uh, her mother was... didn’t have a whole lot of means at the time and she just took it upon herself uh, to-to talk to the store management and see if she could do something to increase her pay andand her-and her hours. And so she started going in early in the morning. Got some shift deferential because of it and uh, uh, she was working uh, longer hours to make more money. And it as all to go to buy her own wedding dress and things like that. “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 18 of 63 CURTIS: 16:47:23:00 She could’ve gone and him-him and her could’ve gone to the-to the JP and spent 50 bucks and-and been done with it but she really wanted that little girl dream of the big dress, the big reception. You know the little pomp and circumstance type thing. And-and you know most of us guys can’t necessarily relate to it but uh, you know having a-a young girl myself I-I was in the same area. So um, I understood it by the time I had to go through it with my own daughter a little bit better so. MALE #1: 16:47:53:00 Mm-hmm. Um, now through my notes you had said that um, that he called you that morning um, when she disappeared. I’m not sure whether uh, he called you or he just showed up? CURTIS: 16:48:11:00 No, he showed up. It wasn’t… If I had said it would’ve been- that wouldn’t have been true. MALE #1: 16:48:16:00 Okay. CURTIS: 16:48:16:00 So um, the way I found out was when I walked through that-that side employee door and I “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 19 of 63 turned to go to the jail. Where we work at there’s a break room right there and I saw him there. And like I said it struck me as hey what are you doing here, you know type of thing because it-it really was odd for him to be there. Not to mention the fact if he was there he would’ve been there as a police officer and he’d have been in uniform. Ah, because he’d already starting working for Gideon’s at that time. And uh, he was not, he was in street clothes. So that-that immediately something-something wasn’t right. MALE #1: 16:48:54:00 Do you remember what time that would’ve been? CURTIS: 16:48:56:00 It was early in the morning. I would say around eight o’clock in the morning maybe; somewhere around that timeframe. And uh, um, it just was unexpected to see him there at that time of the morning and particularly in street clothes and not in uniform. So. MALE #1: 16:49:14:00 And what did he tell you and how did you react? CURTIS: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 20 of 63 16:49:17:00 Well once I saw him in that break room he was standing by himself and my reaction was again uh, kind of why are you here? You know uh, kind of half-heartedly, “Why are you here?” You know. And uh, his direct comments were to me that-that Stacey was missing and that she didn’t show up to work. That’s all. MALE #1: 16:49:41:00 And how did you react? CURTIS: 16:49:42:00 Something’s up, something is wrong because the reaction that I had was that something was wrong and that uh, something wasn’t right and it was based on probably related to my job, my atmosphere of law enforcement that we always probably think of the criminal side before we think anything else. And uh, I also knew at the time that Stacey was very diligent in going to work and showing up to work and being on time and all that- those type of things. And for her not to have been at work or showed up on time that that was-that was way outside the pocket for her. MALE #1: 16:50:27:00 And how was Jimmy behaving, feeling and? CURTIS: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 21 of 63 16:50:32:00 He was very anxious. MALE #1: 16:50:34:00 Who? CURTIS: 16:50:34:00 Jimmy. Jimmy was very anxious that morning when he had told me this. Um, you could see in his eyes, you could see the movements that obviously over the years now it means more to me than it did even maybe even then. But uh, the movements and the-and the-the body language that he was giving was one of high anxiety. Something was wrong. And he sensed it and yet he-he didn’t directly say it. He knew something was wrong. MALE #1: 16:51:09:00 And tell me how you found out when they found his truck? CURTIS: 16:51:15:00 We had been at the office for a little while just because that’s I think if I re-if I remember-if I remember right Jimmy was told when we were find- when we found out about the truck... When we found out about the truck Jimmy was told that uh, he had been told already to stay at that little break area. Don’t remember exactly who he was waiting on at the time. I don’t remember if it was city police uh, Aaron the-the “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 22 of 63 Sherriff’s Office Investigators, uh, but he was there and he had been told to stay there. Well one of the investigators from the Sherriff’s Office and I do not recall which one at the time. Uh, came and told him that uh, they had found the red truck. CURTIS: 16:51:57:00 Jimmy’s red truck. And with that being known immediately that’s the first clue or as you would say it. Uh, well wherever that truck is she needs to be close by. that was the response we had. And so Um, he had came over to the Sherriff’s Office that morning in Stacey’s moms car and of course I had drove my own vehicle. Um, we both drove separate vehicles over to where the truck was found near the high school. I had got permission from my boss to stay with him. And be with him and uh, was given that permission. So I left the jail and went on uh, instead of reporting to work that morning. CURTIS: 16:52:40:00 And uh, we both pull up outside the scene of where they had us stage and uh, sure enough the truck was parked over by what appeared to be if I remember right a dumpster area back behind the stadium. MALE #1: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 23 of 63 16:52:53:00 And what was your first thought? CURTIS: 16:52:59:00 Again the- My first thought again was that a criminal element had stepped into this. There’s somewhere something’s not going to be right. Um, is she going to be hurt? Is she going to be uh, somebody will have taken her? All these things start going through your mind uh, it-it’d be about like walking into a room where your child’s supposed to be and that child’s not there. And you start rampantly running through the house checking windows, doors everything to make sure that the child didn’t get outside of the home. a bed. And you find the child underneath You know you’re hoping for the best but you are expecting the worst and you areyou-you look and prepare for the worst. CURTIS: 16:53:46:00 And seeing that truck there vacant parked where it was immediately brought the worst ideas. MALE #1: 16:53:56:00 Describe the scene for me in terms of what you saw, what the truck looked like, what they had Jimmy do? CURTIS: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 24 of 63 16:54:03:00 When we got there to the truck uh, obviously there was a couple of investigators there and they were taking their pictures and-and doing their processing. Uh, one of the things that became very quickly uh, made aware of; I mean we weren’t there very long and Jimmy was called over to the truck. And he was asked uh, and I don’t recall which investigator did this. Uh, but one of the investigators asked, “Jimmy tell us what’s not supposed to be in the truck? do you see? What-what What’s out of place?” Um, and just from a-a peering position you’re looking through an open door, standing back from the door. CURTIS: 16:54:44:00 Um, I remember him start making comments that you know there was-there was clothing uh, that was in the back seat that probably shouldn’t probably have been there. There was uh, and it was some of Stacey’s clothing. Um, there was uh, uh, what appeared to be some form of a-a I guess you would describe it as a mucus or a-a type of uh, um, element like that that was on thethe floorboard that he said that was there. And uh, it kind of looked like sputum or-or mucus or something along those lines. MALE #1: 16:55:25:00 “You Say It, We Type It” Bodily fluid. ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 25 of 63 CURTIS: 16:55:26:00 Yeah bodily fluid. And it was on the-it was on the floor uh, of the floorboard. Um, the seat was all the way back and the seatbelt was in place. Uh, very common for people who don’t want to be wearing a seatbelt; they’ll lock it into place and just ride on the seatbelt. Uh, that’s kind of what it appeared like; except the seat was laid all the way back also. Um, you could tell just by looking that there was a hair print I guess you would describe it uh, that was directly over what would’ve been the headrest area of this truck. It was a small S-10 pickup truck that had an extended cab. CURTIS: 16:56:05:00 But yet if you laid the seat all the way back and-and let's say where a tall man or tallish person you could’ve sat in that seat and your head would’ve rested on the back windshield. Uh, there’s not a lot of storage area behind the seat. was only like that. I believe it So um, that was something I would recognize that seemed a little out of the ordinary was the actual what appeared to be hair print on the back windshield cause by I couldn’t tell you; sweat, water, uh, some kind of oil, grease; I-I don’t know. “You Say It, We Type It” But it was obviously a hair ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 26 of 63 print. And uh, where somebody’s head had rested against that back window. CURTIS: 16:56:45:00 Um, there was nothing that I recall Jimmy making a note of other than the mucus on the floorboard. That there was something of a mucus type material that was on the floorboard. Uh, everything else that said was just kind of a disarray but nothing as far as wasn’t there that should’ve not have been there other than that one mark on the floorboard. MALE #1: 16:57:13:00 I think there was also one of her sneakers and an earring found in there which you might not remember but? CURTIS: 16:57:20:00 Yeah, yeah and I don’t remember whether the sneaker and earring were found by Jimmy or if they were found by the investigators themselves. Uh, I-I don’t recall seeing that but uh, again it’s been a while. MALE #1: 16:57:34:00 Do you remember seeing anything outside of the truck? CURTIS: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 27 of 63 16:57:40:00 I-I-I remember us looking around the truck; just walking around from a distance outside of the truck and unfortunately if you were to ask me if I saw anything outside the truck I’d have to tell you I do not-I do not remember seeing anything there outside the truck. MALE #1: 16:57:59:00 And what was uh, Jimmy’s... [NON-INTERVIEW] MALE #1: 16:58:11:00 What uh, do you remember what Jimmy’s reaction was to all this; to seeing the truck, to seeing the... MALE #1: 16:58:18:00 Condition things around. CURTIS: 16:58:19:00 Where is she at? is she at?” His reaction was, “Where He want-he wanted to know where she was at, when the truck was found, uh, again, probably the worst thing in the world that could happen sometimes to an investigation is that the investigation happens to a police officer because there’s a lot of training that goes into the ppolice academies and the police officers’ field training and things along those lines that are-that are directly responsible for the reports in which we write. “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- So in order www.dailytranscription.com Page 28 of 63 to write those reports in a way that they have to be presented for court, they have to be very meticulous. They have to be precise, and because of that, we automatically start asking questions that normally people wouldn’t maybe have asked. CURTIS: 16:59:05:00 He’s asking those questions, and he wants to know when the truck was found, where- you know, who found it. Uh, when-when it was seen, uh, was anybody around the truck? These are questions he’s starting to fire at the investigators and of course, they’re doing their job and saying, “Well, the truck was found this morning,” and that was about all he could get out of ‘em is what time it was found and the approximate time it was first seen at-at-at that location. And I want to say the first time it was seen by memory was around 5:00 if I recall. MALE #1: 16:59:37:00 5:23. CURTIS: 16:59:38:00 Yes, sir. MALE #1: 16:59:40:00 Um, when… Let me jump back a second. Uh, when you first came to the Bastrop police department that morning… “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 29 of 63 CURTIS: 16:59:53:00 Sheriff’s office. MALE #1: 16:59:54:00 Sheriff’s office. CURTIS: 16:59:54:00 Mm-hmm. MALE #1: 16:59:55:00 Um, did he tell you anything about the night before what he was doing? CURTIS: 17:00:04:00 Not then. When-when Jimmy-when Jimmy talked to me about the night before and some of the things that had-had let up to her leaving that morning to go to work, um, that was pretty much after the fact. It was after we were trying, and when I say after the fact, I’m talking about once we’d gone and seen the truck. Um, he was basically excused. He was told, “Look. You need to go wait. We’re-we’re gonna be looking. be searching for her. We’re gonna We will find her.” And we’re police officers. what they’re gonna tell us. We know that’s We knew that’s what they wanted us to do and we knew not to check their authority. CURTIS: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 30 of 63 17:00:45:00 So pretty much we did. We went back to-to Giddings, and uh-uh, went back to his apartment, and at that point is when he started talking about some of the things that had happened the night before. Um, he… It’s the first time I really sensed that he was having some kind of blame. He blamed himself for allowing her to drive to work that morning because he had said that he had actually been driving her to work; that way he can keep the truck. up later. He can go pick her Whatever their little arrangement was, but I remember him making comments about he should have got up out of bed and drove her to tr- drove her to work that morning. He said otherwise she wouldn’t be missing. MALE #1: 17:01:33:00 So why didn’t he? CURTIS: 17:01:36:00 The night before, based on what he told me, uh, they- him and a couple of the other police officers, I believe, that were part of a little league coaching group uh, had consumed a little bit of alcohol. Uh, I won’t say they were drunk ‘cause that’s not what he said, but they had drank a few beers after practice and uh, those beers were consumed in and around his vehicle, and uh, that uh, brought the truck back home that “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 31 of 63 night. Um, I don’t know how- what time. I mean uh, if somebody was to ask me a direct question about what time they got home that night, I couldn’t answer that ‘cause I don’t know that I was ever told. But it was later that night after practice. CURTIS: 17:02:18:00 So um, I would assume definitely 10:00’ish, 11:00 maybe at night. You know, after he powed around with the guys a little bit. Plus his whole reasoning for necessarily not coming straight back home was Stacey was asleep. She would go to bed at 9:00, 8:00. 9:00 at night in order to get ready for the shift the next morning. to disturb her. So he didn’t want That was kind of their sleeping arrangement. You know, didn’t want to just come in and disturb her. And so that was part of the other reason why he said he didn’t come home, you know, uh, earlier than he did. So… MALE #1: 17:02:54:00 And uh, did he normally wake up when she left for work? And if he didn’t that morning, why not? CURTIS: 17:03:01:00 Well, and to ask me if-if uh, they- he normally woke up to take her to work, uh, I guess the question would be answered like “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 32 of 63 this. Their-their sleeping arrangements were based on uh, his job being shift work and now her job being shift work of an early hours and stuff. So they were kind of passing in the wind sometimes, you know, because of the way that they were working, but yet, um, for him to get up in the morning, that was mentioned to me that he was driving her to work so that he could have the truck, but every day I can’t answer that ‘cause I don’t know for a fact that’s true. MALE #1: 17:03:40:00 Yeah, I don’t mean to uh… It’s not- it’s more of what happened that morning. CURTIS: 17:03:44:00 Yeah. MALE #1: 17:03:44:00 You had told me when I talked to you on the phone. CURTIS: 17:03:45:00 Yeah. MALE #1: 17:03:47:00 That he said, uh, that he didn’t wake up when she left because he had had a few beers. “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 33 of 63 CURTIS: 17:03:51:00 Yeah, he’d had a few beers. MALE #1: 17:03:52:00 That’s all. So just do me a favor and tell me that. CURTIS: 17:03:55:00 Yeah, uh, and basically the reason why he didn’t get up the next morning whether it was because of uh, her wanting to allow him to sleep further because she knew that he’d had a few beers the night before or he slept in because he had a few beers the night before. Whatever the decision was made, ultimately she drove herself to work that morning. MALE #1: 17:04:13:00 And, uh, describe to me the scene where you were with Jimmy uh, when you found out that her body had been found. [CLEARS THROAT] CURTIS: 17:04:42:00 When we discovered that her body had been found, that Stacey had been found, um, me and Jimmy were actually upstairs in his apartment. Um, he was basically laying on a beanbag on the floor, on the big bean bags, and I was sitting on a chair, and we were just talking about police stuff. Trying to- trying to think about something else for “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 34 of 63 right now, and I kept telling him every time he’d go back to the topic of her, “They’re gonna find her. She’s gonna be okay, and we’ll deal with whatever has happened to her. We’ll deal with it.” And I just kept telling him that and reassuring him that. And this went on for a little while. I don’t remember how long. CURTIS: 17:05:27:00 We were actually in the-the room together, but uh, there was a knock at the door. I answered the door and, if I recall right, it was the chief deputy for Lee County; a guy by the name of Rodney Meyer, who is now the sheriff. Looked down and I could see that there was other police officers in the grassy area of the apartment, and there was cop cars from Bastrop. There was investigators from Bastrop. ranger was there. The Texas Rocky Wardlow. Uh, there was another deputy there from Lee County, and we walked downstairs, and we got downstairs. I believe it was uh, Investigator Connor who walked up and told Jimmy, “We found her, and she’s deceased.” MALE #1: 17:06:24:00 And how did he react? Do you remember? CURTIS: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 35 of 63 17:06:27:00 Shock. He didn’t say anything. Yeah, I y that-that Connor kind of gave him a-a brief hug and-and Jimmy started crying, and the officers that were out there that day, several of ‘em, started crying, and uh, new phase in our life began. So… MALE #1: 17:06:56:00 So just briefly tell me what happened after that; how things went. CURTIS: 17:07:04:00 Well, right after they notified Jimmy, uh, knowing that uh, Stacey’s mom had some medical issues, um, it was decided that they were going to tell Jimmy first, and then follow through with her mother, and actually her mother lived right underneath Jimmy, and we went into the apartment, sat down, and we told her at that point. Um, as you can imagine, a mother just lost her daughter. It was not a pleasant scene. Um, pretty much after that, you know, I-I told Jimmy I’d be there for him. need anything…” Um, “You know, you His dad has showed up. CURTIS: 17:07:50:00 I turned basically him over to his father. [OFF-CAMERA CONVERSATION] Yeah, we-we went downstairs and we told his uh, her mother and uh, as you can imagine, mother just lost her daughter, and so the scene was very “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 36 of 63 chaotic. Um, wasn’t pleasant whatsoever. And uh, from that point there’s some time that had gone through and-and actually Jimmy’s dad had arrived and I turned Jimmy over to his father, and uh, I think I probably personally had to have a moment myself, you know? CURTIS: 17:08:44:00 So um, I drove to my home there in Lee County and uh, now I get the job of telling my family who had grown fairly close to the whole situation and uh, and you know, obviously when you have somebody who has a car crash or they die in a car accident or a sudden health issue, a heart attack or something like that, it’s explainable. You expect it almost sometimes, but to have a loved one or a friend removed from you through what was told to us by means of somebody else taking her. CURTIS: 17:09:30:00 Um, that was hard to accept. It was hard to explain to young kids when I got home thatthat afternoon. MALE #1: 17:09:41:00 Uh, I can’t imagine. I’d never been in that position and I’m glad I haven’t. Um, I want to take you back to when you were a jailer then. Um, and ask you about this guy and Rodney Reed and whether you ever knew of him “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 37 of 63 or as an officer uh, did you ever come across him? Like was Rodney Reed somebody that you knew before this happened? CURTIS: 17:10:19:00 Rodney Wee- Reed was a- Rodney Reed was a person that uh, I had encountered in the jail uh, maybe a couple times. Uh, I wouldn’t be for sure, but I do- I did recognize him from the jail. At the time I was working in the jail that I ran across Rodney a couple of times. I’d also, at the same time, been working for the Bastrop County Sheriff’s office as a reserve deputy. Kind of a reserve deputy and go out on patrol and-and assist the deputies, uh, on nights off, vacations, things like that, and you can just kind of fill in a spot. CURTIS: 17:10:53:00 And so I was doing that at the same time I was working at the jail. So I had an opportunity to patrol the streets of Bastrop uh, County, and cities of Alvin, Bastrop, Smithville. So I got to learn a lot of the people that were roaming around, that were available for uh, contact with police, I guess you would say. Um, also because of my stint in the jail, I recognize a lot of these people. I-I knew who they were, you know? But then here they are at 3:00 in the “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 38 of 63 morning walking around and I’m thinking, “No, that’s not gonna end up well.” CURTIS: 17:11:28:00 Uh, probably need to check this guy. You know, see exactly what he’s doing. Rodney happened to be one of those people. Rodney was one of those people that was always out 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, um, usually on a bicycle, and uh, riding up and down the railroad tracks there in Bastrop, in the city of Bastrop. Um, it-it just became almost his uh, mode of operation, you might say, that if you ran across Rodney Reed, he was gonna be on the railroad tracks and he was gonna be there in the city of Bastrop and he was gonna be on a bicycle. CURTIS: 17:12:02:00 You know, to stop and talk to him was almost stupid because you already knew who he was. You knew what he was doing, but at least you knew where he was. there’s Rodney. is,” you know? So it-it became, “Well, At least we know where he But uh, that would-that would have been, if I was to explain when I first met Rodney, that would be some of my first encounters of Rodney would be along the railroad track of Bastrop and-and sometimes in the jail. MALE #1: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 39 of 63 17:12:29:00 When you say you knew what he was doing, what-what kind of things was Rodney doing? CURTIS: 17:12:33:00 I’d love to explain what I thought Rodney was doing at that hour of the night driving up and down, riding up and down the railroad tracks on a bicycle. Uh, I’m not sure I could give an explanation. I will say that I know that he had been stopped and talked to about drug uh, sales. He had been stopped and talked to about having drugs on him. Um, how many arrests were made because of that, I could not tell you. I never personally arrested him for anything. So that would probably have to be my answer on that. I don’t know what Rodney was doing at that time of morning, uh, other than didn’t have a job. So I guess he could roam whenever he wanted to. MALE #1: 17:13:13:00 Did he have any kind of reputation among the police? CURTIS: 17:13:16:00 He had a reputation among the police. Uh, Rodney uh, was somebody that was known, and unfortunately when you’re dealing with a law enforcement community, it’s better off not to be known because it’s kind of like the bad kid in class. “You Say It, We Type It” That bad kid, teacher ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 40 of 63 knows that bad kid every time. Well, Rodney was kind of developing that type of reputation as being the bad kid. He was always seems to be around when he wouldn’t, shouldn’t be around. Um, whether or not he was every arrested for burglaries or theft, um, I will say this, it seemed like every night that I ever encountered him on the rail road track, he was on a different bicycle. CURTIS: 17:13:55:00 So again, small town theft, I-I really don’t know what he was doing. MALE #1: 17:14:01:00 Which is [I think?] when you, uh, you discover or when you learned who was arrested for Stacey’s murder, what was your reaction? CURTIS: 17:14:13:00 My reaction when I found out that Rodney had been arrested for Stacey’s murder was pretty awestruck. I- that’s not really what I saw him as doing. He had already started… There was some cases that were coming in and again, you gotta remember I was a jailer at the time. I was not involved in direct investigations of any sort, but the Bastrop Sheriff’s Office. And-and yet, you know, hallway talk and things, but uh, the hallway “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 41 of 63 talk at the time was that Rodney had been involved in a couple of assaults in the area, and that in all actuality, those assaults are what led to the knowledge thatthat Stacey was one of his victims. MALE #1: 17:14:57:00 I’m gonna be talking to David Board about that ‘cause I-I know he… [OVERLAP] CURTIS: 17:15:01:00 Yeah, and that’s-that’s your best answer is right there. MALE #1: 17:15:03:00 And I know since you weren’t involved. CURTIS: 17:15:05:00 Yeah. MALE #1: 17:15:06:00 Even though you might know the information. CURTIS: 17:15:08:00 Yeah. MALE #1: 17:15:08:00 It’s not really best for me to talk to you about it. CURTIS: 17:15:12:00 “You Say It, We Type It” Yeah. ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 42 of 63 MALE #1: 17:15:13:00 Um, so what uh, what did you think? How did you feel when you found out that he was convicted and given the death sent- when Rodney was given the death sentence for his crime? CURTIS: 17:15:37:00 The way I felt when I discovered that-that Rodney was found guilty and ultimately he was given the death sentence, um, the first part of that would have been we found out he was guilty. That was-that was step on. actually the important step. And The part about the death penalty, depending on what genre you talk, who you talk to, what facet of life you were brought up in, the death penalty has its own-its own conversations. CURTIS: 17:16:13:00 At the time, I was hurt. disappointed. At the time, I was I had to watch a woman be buried in her wedding dress. All those pictures came back to my mind watching my friend suffer the way we did that day together not knowing, finding out. And again, ultimately seeing her buried a few days later in her wedding dress that she worked so hard to buy and was so proud of. And I was a little upset. To say that I would like to see Rodney Reed die, that day, yes. “You Say It, We Type It” I was very pleased with the outcome. ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 43 of 63 CURTIS: 17:17:04:00 Um, I still say that there’s justice and justice and because I do believe in the American justice system. I do believe and do support the death penalty. Um, again, we can conversate that for days, but ultimately that day I would say because of all the pictures that ran though my mind, I was very pleased of the fact that I found out that he got the death penalty. MALE #1: 17:17:36:00 Forget about that day. feel about it. Just tell me how you Uh, not about the death penalty, but about him and about what-what the justice system wants to do to him. I mean… CURTIS: 17:17:48:00 Well, that’s… As… MALE #1: 17:17:49:00 Whether he deserves to live or not. CURTIS: 17:17:51:00 As we progress further and we get into what has become a 20 year stint of my experience, my law enforcement experience, my law enforcement teachings, um, what I know now about the case that’s been more open than more prevalent throughout whether you listen “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 44 of 63 to the news or you listen direct case law coming out of the court. Um, there is no doubt in my mind that Rodney Reed caused the death of Stacey Stites, and because he caused the death of Stacey Stites, he should have to answer for that. CURTIS: 17:18:28:00 A court of law has appointed him to die by lethal injection and I support that and I believe that that would be the right thing to do. I believe based on-on the information that came out of the court and the evidence that was presented. There is no doubt that he committed this crime. Um, and he is going to ultimately be held accountable for it, uh, if not by man’s law, by God’s law. MALE #1: 17:19:03:00 You said Rodney uh, caused the death of Stacey Stites. That sounds a little indirect. CURTIS: 17:19:11:00 When I said Rodney caused the death of Stacey Stites, it-it may sound a little indirect, but uh, in all actuality it’s ait’s a legal term. he did do. Uh, that’s exactly what Whatever actions he did to cause that, um, ultimately his actions caused her death. “You Say It, We Type It” Uh, the evidence speaks for itself. ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 45 of 63 I mean you know, the autopsies, the evidence that was found at the scene of her body. Uh, we can pretty well surmise what happened to her. CURTIS: 17:19:43:00 Um, again, without being directly involved in the investigation, I can tell you whatwhat I know was found, but uh, I believe the evidence definitely supports the fact that Rodney Reed caused the death of Stacey Stites, which meant he committed murder. MALE #1: 17:20:04:00 It’s just that’s what most people think of. I mean e-even though you’re using correct legalistic term. [COUGH] CURTIS: 17:20:08:00 Sure. MALE #1: 17:20:10:00 I’m thinking of the general public. CURTIS: 17:20:12:00 Sure. MALE #1: 17:20:12:00 So that’s-that’s why I wanted you to make you say that. That’s a little more… CURTIS: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 46 of 63 17:20:15:00 Mm-hmm. Oh, that’s cool. MALE #1: 17:20:17:00 Okay. [LAUGH] Um, and tell me what you think of Rodney Reed; about him as you know, the kind of person that has committed these crimes and what should happen to them? CURTIS: 17:20:36:00 Rodney Reed, at the point in which I interacted with him or he interacted with what became part of my life, um, he took a piece of life at that point. A piece of my life that uh, I will never forget. I will never forget having to tell my uh, daughter who had been told that she was going to be part of Stacey's wedding group, and uh, the fact that I was going to be the best man at the wedding, and these are things that uh, he took away from us. CURTIS: 17:21:16:00 And like I said, Stacey was not killed in a car accident. Something you could explain. She had somebody maliciously take her life. Selfishly take her life and because of that, we were left to pick up the pieces. can tell you this. Um, I Uh, the friendship that I talked very highly of earlier is nonexistent. We do not talk anymore. It became easier not to talk to each other anymore because of the memories. “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- He went www.dailytranscription.com Page 47 of 63 his way, and I went mine. I continue to raise my family and he went on and continued to raise his family. CURTIS: 17:21:53:00 Um, it uh, tore apart a good friendship. Something that, quite honestly, I have never looked for again. I fell back into the love and care about my brothers and that’s who my friends are, and so Rodney Reed, as a person, is a liar. He’s not willing to admit what he has done to people, to himself; not to mention his own family. You know, we’re talking about putting a man to death and he has a family. The problem is in this case, he’s not the victim. He’s the person who committed the murder, and the family is gonna hurt just the same. So I don’t think much of Rodney Reed. MALE #1: 17:22:55:00 You feel justice has been served. CURTIS: 17:22:57:00 And I do feel like justice has been served and will be served. MALE #1: 17:23:03:00 You hope to see it served. CURTIS: 17:23:04:00 “You Say It, We Type It” Yes, I do. ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 48 of 63 MALE #1: 17:23:06:00 Can you tell me that? CURTIS: 17:23:07:00 Yeah, I feel like justice has been served and I-and I hope to see it fulfilled and served through the whole process. MALE #1: 17:23:17:00 And tell me what happened to Jimmy after because I know some-some bad things ended up happening or he ended up doing some bad things. CURTIS: 17:23:25:00 Yeah. After this- after the trial, after the-the sentencing, after that part of or segment of our life had-had come to a close, and then Rodney will go on. Rodney Reed will go on and-and, you know, his lawyers will start to work the legal system as-as is afforded to him by law. The other side of it is, is that Jimmy, he went on with his life or tried. CURTIS: 17:24:02:00 Um, he ends up going from Giddings. Moving from Giddings to uh, a police department uh, just north of Austin in the area of Georgetown, and I believe, if I remember right, that that is his hometown is from “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 49 of 63 that area. Um, so he went back home. Um, he joins the police department there. Uh, from what my understanding is and I apologize, I am not a Facebook person. wife is. My Apparently my wife and Jimmy would keep up with each other throughout the years on and off conversations. CURTIS: 17:24:41:00 Um, and she would fill me in about what he was doing and what he was accomplishing. Um, and he moved up into the ranks of the Georgetown Police Department. Um, he eventually uh, will remarry or re- or he will get married. Uh, I believe he actually has a couple daughters. Uh, I believe from Facebook entries to my wife, he actually bought some land. Um, he was trying to move on with his life, and somewhere in all this, there’s a news article that come out, “Georgetown Police Officer arrested for sexual abuse of a prisoner,” and it’s Jimmy Fennell. CURTIS: 17:25:35:00 I was shocked. shocked. think. I really was. I was I-I had no- I did not know what to You know, first off you want to think, well, he’s innocent. You know? But uh, as fast as the evidence started showing or coming to a conclusion, uh, through their investigations up there and through what I “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 50 of 63 believe it was Texas Rangers, it became very obvious, he-he will have committed what this lady was claiming. Um, there was evidence to prove that. CURTIS: 17:26:11:00 So again, you know, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Rodney Reed. Fennell. DNA is what caught DNA is what caught Jimmy Um, again, our friendship at that point was non-existent. I had not talked to him in a couple of years, and since that’s happened, I have not communicated with him at all nor does my wife Facebook with him. The last I heard he was actually in prison. So that’s an area in my life that uh, as I refer to, I shelf. I’ll never forget it. It was important to me at the time, but I’m also one of them people that I’m not gonna dwell on things I cannot fix. CURTIS: 17:26:59:00 I cannot fix this. All I can do is teach my children, my grandchildren to move on and to experience life to the fullest because you truly never ever know what’s waiting around the corner. So um, it was very sad to see somebody, however he was affected that may have caused him to act like this. it a power thing? Was it… Uh, was He was a cop and it just he thought he could do it and get away with it? “You Say It, We Type It” I don’t know ‘cause I’ve ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 51 of 63 never- I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that in my career. CURTIS: 17:27:39:00 You know, there’s uh… And when I’m- when I say not experienced, I’m talking about the power thing. people. It’s- you’re trying to serve You’re trying to do those things, and I’m not a Crusader. I mean I’m not-I’m not that type of guy, but you have a job to do. Just do the job and go home. You know, that’s-that’s some old cops taught me that a long time ago. Just do the job and go home. You know, don’t bring it home. There’s no sense in it, and yet, these type of aspects of your friend’s fiancé being murdered, uh, every day dealing with it, it-it’s tough not to do. CURTIS: 17:28:18:00 But uh, if my wife was sitting here today, she’d tell you I do not talk about this stuff at home. I do not bring it home. So what happened to Jimmy that made him turn to be now the reputation is gonna be no matter what a good cop he might have ever been, he will always be known as the bad cop, and uh, what made him do that I could never tell you. I have no idea. unacceptable. So um, it’s Totally unacceptable. Uh, based on other news stories and-and people of the community of Bastrop, you know, “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 52 of 63 rumors go pretty strong, and the first thing that happened when Jimmy was sided with this was obviously he was guilty of-of uh, taking Stacey's life. CURTIS: 17:29:11:00 And I will never believe that. Never. The person who took Stacey’s life is sitting on death row in Austin, Texas; that’s Rodney Reed. MALE #1: 17:29:23:00 That’s what I was gonna ask you because after that happened, people started saying, “Well, if-if he’s able to commit this violent crime and try to cover it up” because according to the story he tried to, you know, hide what he did… CURTIS: 17:29:44:00 Mm-hmm. MALE #1: 17:29:45:00 That… Well, you tell me. What were- what was the reasoning for-for people to think that after that happened, that maybe he could have killed Stacey. CURTIS: 17:29:57:00 Oh, that’s an easy one. Just um, I believe the reason why Bastrop rumors, stories started flying around after Jimmy’s arrest for uh, his crime he committed with that“You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 53 of 63 with that lady up in Georgetown- I believe the reason why most people jumped on the Jimmy Fennell bandwagon that he had to have done this. He-he had to have had something to do with it um, was because… MALE #1: 17:30:25:00 Had to have something to do with what? Sorry. CURTIS: 17:30:28:00 The reason why I think they jumped on the bandwagon because of the fact that-that Jimmy had to do with the murder and death of Stacey is because it was-it was an easy target at the time. It’s easy to sit there because our judicial system is one of doubt. If we can cause somebody to doubt something, that’s all it takes. It’s just mere doubt. If you’re sitting in that jury box and you have any doubt whatsoever, you have an obligation to tell the court that I don’t believe this happened. And um, I-I think you have obviously, I mentioned earlier, a family that’s fighting for the life of their child. CURTIS: 17:31:13:00 Their son, their cousin, their brother. And they will do anything in their power to cause that doubt, and they’re reaching out with all hope to save Rodney Reed’s life. “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- I www.dailytranscription.com Page 54 of 63 don’t blame them for it. I would expect that, but I also know it’s wrong, and as I’ve said earlier, the man who is responsible for Stacey Stites’ death is Rodney Reed and he is sitting on death row in Huntsville, Texas. MALE #1: 17:31:54:00 And Jimmy Fennell is not the man who killed Stacey Stites. CURTIS: 17:31:57:00 And Jimmy Fennell is not the person who killed Stacey Stites. Jimmy Fennell, in my opinion, based only on opinion, is a person who lost sense, lost control of his life. Was it based on the fact that he’d lost his fiancé? I wouldn’t be able to tell you that ‘cause I’ve never talked to him about that, but uh, victims sometimes do strange things, and because of the fact that we really don’t ever know the total mentality behind a victim, and each person has their own strengths, I don’t know what the death of Stacey caused Jimmy, but I will say this, the person who was accused and ultimately convicted of the wrongdoings with that lady in Georgetown was not the person that I originally met. CURTIS: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 55 of 63 17:33:01:00 And I allowed into my home and was around my children. So… MALE #1: 17:33:09:00 I believe it. I think I covered everything I wanted to, but I just want to check. CURTIS: 17:33:18:00 Sure. MALE #1: 17:33:19:00 Um, oh, this was something. Because-because people brought this up, uh, and I don’tit’s not necessarily because I want to use it in this film, but I’m just curious and want to hear it from you. Um, peop- there have been some conspiracy theories and… CURTIS: 17:33:45:00 Oh yeah. MALE #1: 17:33:45:00 And people could have helped Jimmy. what do you think of those? Uh, The possibility that, you know, a police office… That Jimmy could have done this and that other police would have helped him cover it up or helped him drive back or something like that? CURTIS: 17:34:04:00 The other thing that-that followed with the rumor mills and the-and the different things “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 56 of 63 that happened in a small communities obviously. I guess it happen in large too, but uh, particularly in Bastrop at that time of the-the murder case going on, uh, was that uh, Jimmy could have had somebody help him do this; that uh, the conspiracy factor behind police officers, you know, know how to get away with it a lot better than the normal criminal person would, um, that is ludicrous. There… CURTIS: 17:34:37:00 This of all things, small communities, particularly small police communities, it’s harder to hide things that it is necessarily in a large community police agency. Um, I’m not sure if I have factual numbers or anything to go behind that. It’s just my opinion that we can’t get away with nothing in my office because everybody knows what you do. So it takes a lot. It would take a lot for another man, particularly a police officer, to walk up to another police officer and say, “Hey, look, I’m thinking about killing my wife or my fiancé. How about you come help me with it?” CURTIS: 17:35:26:00 First off, what’s the end-end run for the other guy? watch? me. “You Say It, We Type It” Oh, I get to sit there and I get that’s supposed to be fun for Uh, I get to maybe go to prison for the ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 57 of 63 rest of my life. These are not things that are readily available in the thought process of police officers when you would be planning a murder. Um. MALE #1: 17:35:47:00 Well, let me just… Sorry to interrupt you, but… CURTIS: 17:35:49:00 No, I… MALE #1: 17:35:51:00 I’d say that if anything, in these other theories, it wasn’t a premeditated thing. That it might be a more oh, I-I [OVERLAP]… CURTIS: 17:36:00:00 I can talk about that. MALE #1: 17:36:01:00 Had some moment of [COUGH] passion or… CURTIS: 17:36:04:00 I can talk about that. MALE #1: 17:36:04:00 Be it a mistake, will you as a friend help me? CURTIS: 17:36:07:00 Yeah, you know, to think that this was a premeditated thing, obviously I-I don’t “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 58 of 63 believe that. [OVERLAP] [OFF-CAMERA CONVERSATION] MALE #1: 17:36:23:00 I’m sorry. CURTIS: 17:36:24:00 Um, I’m having a brain freeze for a second. MALE #1: 17:36:27:00 Well, uh, you had been talking about something premeditated. I’m talking about or I think the idea. CURTIS: 17:36:31:00 Yeah, if-if the idea that this was a premeditated situation is not gonna work. Um, it would probably be something if you’re gonna blame Jimmy it would be what? act of passion. A-a-an They had an argument. Uh, he didn’t see things the same way she did or whatever. passion. And it would have to be an act of Well, if you’re gonna do that and you’re gonna say that somebody else helped you do this, you’re still gonna have to go to somebody and say, “Hey, you’re gonna have to help me get rid of this body.” That is a big undertaking, you know, to ask another man or woman to come in on your criminal episode. CURTIS: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 59 of 63 17:37:12:00 I would… Had he come to me with that, be very honest with you. I’ll tell you this. Had he come to me and said, “Curtis, I killed Stacey. of the body. I need some help getting rid I can’t-I can’t be caught in this, you know?” “Oh buddy, I don’t know what to tell you, but uh, you’re now under arrest, and I will take you down to the police station myself and I’ll make sure nobody hurts you, but you’re going down to the police station because now you have no crossed the line. I cannot be part of whatever you just did,” and besides we’rewe’re of a cooperative law enforcement. CURTIS: 17:37:50:00 You know, law enforcement wants cooperation. So the first thing we preach to the bad guys when we even talk to them. 18 years. I’ve done it for Is you need to cooperate. need to tell us what you’ve done. You You need to show repentance because District Attorneys are sitting back and they’re waiting. They want to see what you’re gonna say and if you come in and you basically say, “I’m not talking to you,” okay, well, I’m not gonna deal with you. We’ll just send you up the river ‘cause we got the evidence. So you’re done. You come in there and say, “Look, my family was hungry. I had to get some food for ‘em. stole that TV. “You Say It, We Type It” I repent. ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- Yeah I I’m sorry. I www.dailytranscription.com Page 60 of 63 won’t ever do it again. Please give me a break.” CURTIS: 17:38:30:00 Which do you think people want to hear? Had Jimmy gone in and said, “I killed her. got mad at each other. slipped and fell.” I pushed her. We She Whatever the situation was that would have caused her death, but to take an item and place it around her neck and pull with the force that it took to strangle her, Jimmy Fennell did not do that. It did not happen like that. The man who wanted her dead because he could not allow her to talk about him is sitting on death row in Huntsville and his name is Rodney Reed. MALE #1: 17:39:10:00 What do you mean could not allow her to talk about him? Explain that. CURTIS: 17:39:13:00 There was uh, indications that there was a sexual act committed against her and so I’m pretty sure that uh, he didn’t want her getting out telling everybody that it was him that did it, and for him to be found out. MALE #1: 17:39:28:00 “You Say It, We Type It” Right. So… ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 61 of 63 CURTIS: 17:39:28:00 And besides, we-we never will know what Rodney’s state of mind was at that time as far as whether he was using alcohol, whether he was using drugs, or whether that’s just his normal psyche. We’ll never know that. You know, because he’s not telling us. So we’re left to wonder, well is this something that the Rodney Reed of the world did on a regular basis? Is this something the Rodney Reed of the world did only when he got drunk or-or high on drugs? We’ll never know because Rodney did not want to cooperate with law enforcement. MALE #1: 17:40:07:00 If you could say something to Rodney, what would you say? CURTIS: 17:40:14:00 If I could say something to Rodney, I would probably say, “I forgive you for what you did to my family only because I was raised in a Christian lifestyle and I feel like I owe that at least to my grandmother, but you deserve what the state of Texas will be doing to you and that is ending your life.” MALE #1: 17:40:47:00 I believe you. Is there anything else you’d like to say that I haven’t covered? “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 62 of 63 CURTIS: 17:40:55:00 Not a lot. Yeah. No. We’re-we’re pretty done. Um, yeah. MALE #1: 17:41:04:00 Grace. Guys. Anything? FEMALE: 17:41:07:00 I think we’re good. [OFF-CAMERA CONVERSATION] MALE #3: 17:41:16:00 [ROOM TONE] MALE #1: 17:41:33:00 Could you do me one favor and just stand up and just stand up and then step and sit down uh, just so that we film you sitting down in the chair? CURTIS: 17:41:45:00 Okay. MALE #1: 17:41:45:00 As if it’s the beginning of the interview, unless you did that. CURTIS: 17:41:48:00 Into this chair? [OFF-CAMERA CONVERSATION] MALE #1: “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com Page 63 of 63 17:41:49:00 Yeah, just uh, you don’t have to go anywhere. Just really stand up and sit down and make yourself comfortable. CURTIS: 17:42:00:00 Right here and then sit down? MALE #1: 17:42:01:00 Yeah, go for it. Great. Curtis, I apologize for putting you through this, but I really appreciate it. CURTIS: 17:42:16:00 It brought back some memories. MALE #1: 17:42:16:00 I can’t-I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. CURTIS: 17:42:18:00 All right. Well, and I-I think based on the phone call, you know most of the evidence anyway. belt? You know, I did I know about the Yeah. I know about the belt. Uh, did I know where she… “You Say It, We Type It” ---Daily Transcription (888) 515-7143--- www.dailytranscription.com