APPENDIX L MODEL STATEMENT Assume in a hypothetical case that William Billiard confessed to shooting John Jones to death with a handgun during the course of a robbery that occurred in an alley in the 1300 block of Jackson Blvd. Witnesses heard two gun shots and described a man running out of the alley, entering a nearby light colored vehicle and driving west on Jackson. An autopsy revealed that the caliber of weapon used to kill Jones was 9 mm. The autopsy and background investigation revealed that Jones was addicted to heroin and he had an extensive record for burglary. Statement made by William Billiard in interview room #4 in the office of John E. Reid and Associates, Inc., 250 S. Wacker Dr., Chicago, Illinois, to Joseph P. Buckley, in the presence of Mary Murphy, secretary, at 2:15 on Friday, September 20, 1999. Q: What is your full name? A: William James Billiard. Q: Where do you live, Bill? A: 312 S. Sinclar, apartment 22. Q: Is that Skokie, Illinois? A: Yes. Q: How old are you, Bill? A: Twenty-three. Q: Are you married? A: Well, yeah, but I'm not living with her. Q: You mean your wife? A: Right. Q: Where does she live? A: In Lincolnshire, Illinois. Q: Do you have any children? A: Yeah. Johnny and Sue. Q: How old are your children? A: Johnny's six and Sue is three. Q: When and where were you married? A: On June 26, 1990 in Lincolnshire. Q: Are you presently employed? A: Not at the present time. Q: When was the last time you were employed? A: Couple of years ago I worked for the telephone company. Q: What office did you work out of? A: I didn't work in no office. I worked out of the shop at 150 Canal Street. 173
Q: How have you been supporting yourself? A: Odd jobs here and there and I sell a little stuff on the side. Q: So you sell drugs to earn money. A: Just minor league, nothing big time. Q: Do you know John Jones (victim)? A: I know who he is. Q: Do you know where John Jones is now? A: Yeah, he's dead. Q: How did he die? A: I shot him. Q: When did you shoot him? A: About two weeks ago. It was a Monday night. Q: Was that September 6, 1999? A: Yeah, if that was a Friday. Q: Bill, tell me in your own words just how John Jones was shot. A: Well I was out at Jake's Place on Jackson that Friday night and I saw Jones. He was flashing bills and asking around where he could score some H. I don't deal in hard drugs but I followed him out and when he passed by an alley on Jackson it went down. Q: Please tell me exactly what happened. A: I stuck a gun in his back and told him to turn the corner and if he cooperated he wouldn't get hurt. I told him to give me his wallet and like a fool he tried to run away. I grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him to the ground and I had to get the wallet myself. Q: And then what happened? A: I took the wallet from his front pants pocket and then I did it. Q: What did you do? A: I shot him. He was all strung out and didn't want to give up his wad. He was really acting crazy, yelling and stuff. I had to. Q: How many times did you shoot him? A: Three times. Q: What kind of gun did you shoot him with? A: A 9 mm automatic. Q: What did you do next? A: I ran down Jackson, got into my car and drove out of there. Q: What kind of car were you driving? A: A white Ford Bronco. Q: What direction on Jackson did you drive? A: Out of the city, west. 174 Q: What did you do with the shell casings? A: I picked them up and threw them in a sewer cover outside of a 7-11.
Q: Where is that 7-11 located? A: Hicks and National. Q: Exactly where is that storm sewer? A: It's in the parking lot just in front of the main entrance. Q: Have you told your wife about this? A: Are you kidding? I haven't talked to her in months. Q: Where in Lincolnshire is she living? A: With her mother. I think the address is 249 Oxford. Q: What time was it when you shot John Jones? A: I don't know exactly. Q: Approximately what time did you shoot him? A: Around 11:15. Q: Eleven-fifteen in the morning or night? A: 11:15 at night. Q: Where is that 9 mm automatic right now? A: It's behind a wall in my bedroom. Q: Could you explain that? A: I cut a small hole out of the wall in my bedroom and plastered over it. I painted the bedroom the following Monday. Q: Now you said that after you killed John Jones you drove away in a white Ford Bronco; where did you go? A: I went to a 7-11 on Hicks and National and picked up some chips and some Mountain Dew. Then I went back to my apartment and took care of the gun. Q: How much money did you steal from John Jones? A: About $800. Q: Where is that money right now? A: I spent most of it. I owed $230 for rent and was about $100 behind on my telephone bill. The rest went for food and stuff. Q: When did you pay your rent? A: I was already two weeks over so I took it in the next Monday. Q: Did you pay that $230 in cash? A: Yep. Q: Who did you pay that to? A: The super at the apartment, Mark Jeffords. Q: And that $230 was from the money you stole from John Jones? A: Yeah. Q: What did you do with John Jones' wallet? A: I dumped it in the same sewer as the shell casings. 175
Q: That was the 7-11 on Hicks? A: Right. Q: Where did you originally get the gun from? A: I bought it from a guy I know. Q: When did you buy it? A: Back last spring, in April or May. Q: How much did you pay for it? A: $250. Q: Who sold you the gun, Bill? A: His name is Tony. Q: Where does Tony live? A: I don't know exactly. It's on Washington St. in Skokie. Q: What is Tony's last name? A: Philmore. I've hung with him since high school. Q: Where did you go to high school? A. Kennedy High in Skokie. Q: Did you graduate? A: No, I didn't. Q: What was the last year you attended high school? A: 1988. Q: Bill, when did you first decide to rob John Jones? A: When I saw him flashing all those bills in Jake's. I needed money and he seemed like an easy score. Q: Did you have your gun with you when you were in Jake's? A: No. It was under the seat of my car so I went and got it from there. Q: Was it loaded at the time you got it? A: It had a full clip, I just pulled the slide back to get it ready. Q: About what time of the night would this have been? A: Probably around 10:45. I had the gun tucked in my back under a jacket and returned to Jake's. I had to wait for almost a half hour before Jones left. Q: Before you shot John Jones did you have to put a bullet into the chamber? A: No, I already done that when I got the gun from the car. I just pulled the hammer back when I first brought it out, just before I approached him by the alley. Q: Are your parents living, Bill? A: My mom is. My father's dead. Q: When did he die? A: Back in 1976. We were living in Independence at the time. 176 Q: Where was he buried? A: Next to the church we went to in Independence.
Q: Bill, did you have anything to eat today? A: Yeah, before I came here the cops brought me a hamburger, fries and a coke. Q: Bill, did you go to the men's room since you've been here today? A: No, I didn't have to go. Q: Bill, is there anything else you would like to say here? A: No, I said enough already. If I wasn't behind on rent and if I didn't have that gun none of this would have happened. I suppose I'm going to go to prison for this? Q: Bill, I'm not a judge and am in no position to tell you what a court might decide. My only job is to establish the truth and I can't promise you anything. A: I understand you're only doing your job. I just want you to know that if I had it to do over again I wouldn't have done it. Q: I understand. Bill, since you've been here today has anyone made any threats or promises to you? A: No, not at all. I appreciate your giving me the chance to tell my side of the story. Q: Bill, if you are asked these same questions at some later point in time would your answers be the same? A: Sure. Q: Why is that? A: Because it's the truth. MODEL STATEMENT After the statement is transcribed and all the witnesses are present, give the original typewritten copy to the subject; the interrogator should keep a copy to read from. Each witness should have a copy of the statement. Present the subject with a pen ready for writing. The interrogator, who should be sitting in front of the suspect, should also have a pen ready for writing. An announcement at this point to all that each should correct any errors on his or her copy is a good psychological suggestion. However, only the suspect and the interrogator should correct their copies. When the interrogator, while in front of the suspect, corrects his copy, it is suggestive and the suspect may correct his copy without prompting. The interrogator should correct his copy and place his initials in the margin, likewise the suspect should also correct his copy and place his initials in the margin. The suspect should be asked to fully correct and fully sign at least two copies of the statement in case the original copy is lost. The suspect should sign at the bottom of the last page first and then be requested to sign at the bottom of each proceeding page. The witnesses must sign in the presence of the suspect after he has completed his signatures. The witnesses should also sign in the presence of one another. THE CONFESSION IS NOT THE END OF THE INVESTIGATION Based on the previous confession, the investigator should develop independent evidence to corroborate the suspect's statements. The following would be some suggested avenues of investigation. 1. Recover the wallet and shell casings from the sewer outside of 7-11. 2. Recover the gun behind the wall in the suspect's bedroom. 3. Obtain a statement from Tony Philmore to confirm that he sold the suspect the gun. 4. Obtain a statement from Mark Jeffords indicating that the suspect paid him $230 in cash for rent on September 23. 177