Looking a Killer in the Face

I've talked to many people who have committed many crimes. It's my job to try and talk to them wherever I can. I can either yell out questions while police lead a suspect into or out of a courthouse (see: The Art of the Perp Walk), or while they are being arrested. Other times I have to try and get an interview while they are in jail. When I called the Taylor County Jail to see if Santiago Garza and Neil Flores wanted to talk to us, and they said yes, I knew I would be looking a killer in the face.

Suspects often don't say much during a jailhouse interview, fearing they will say too much and it will affect them later in court. Much to my surprise, Garza and Florez did not have that fear. Both knew they had done something very wrong and were ready to take responsibility for what they did. Most people in jailhouse interviews say they did not do it. Because of that fact, while interviewing some one behind the glass at the jail, I spend much of my time trying to get information out of them, leading up to the big question, 'Did you do it?' But both said they did it off the bat. Needless to say, that left plenty of time to go over the details.

Asking someone how they killed a person is very uncomfortable. Even though they are killers, I felt bad asking them how and why they did it. Many times I have to go back and watch the video after the interview to remeber what was said when I am sitting down at my desk to write a story. Not this time. I came back to the station, sat down, and wrote the story without ever having to refer to the video. It is hard to forget what someone is saying when they're taking about a murder, and it's something I probably won't forget soon.

P.S. On a side note: This week, when talking about the kids involved in this case, I broke down on the air and could not get through my live shot. I saw the tiny hand prints on the window, at the apartment, where the bodies were found, that were highlighted by the police dusting for fingerprints.

My 1 year old loves to stand and look out the window. My wife has to clean the window constantly because of his hands prints all over it, so seeing the hand prints of the girls hit home. Sgt. Keith Shackelford at the Police Dept. saw the live shot and pulled me aside today to make sure I was okay. Chaplain Donna with the Police Dept. also called to check on me.

I just wanted to say thanks.