The following is a verbatim transcript between Detective Donald A. Starner, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department, and BVI Inv. Mike Orrego, NYS Police, and Anthony J.C. Schroedel, 36 Airport Road, Eldred, NY.

Starner: Anthony, I want to advise you of your rights again at this time, is that okay with you?

Schroedel: What results, I’m guilty.

Starner: Well I want to advise you of your rights again, okay. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. If you cannot afford to hire, I’m sorry. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him present while you’re being questioned. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you before any questioning, if you wish one. You can decide at any time to exercise these rights and not answer any questions or make any statements. Do you understand your rights as I’ve read them to you?

Schroedel: Yes, I do.

Starner: Having your rights in mind, are you willing to talk to us?

Schroedel: Actually, I got no choice, I gave you a written statement, so—

Starner: You have a choice, sir. It’s up to you. Do you wish to still talk to us?

Schroedel: I got no choice.

Starner: No, you do have a choice. It’s really a yes or no answer. Do you wish to talk to me again?

Schroedel: Well, what about those written statements, they tell everything.

Starner: Yes, you have been cooperative with us, but now I need, I want to put this on tape and I need to have you either yes, you will talk to us without an attorney or no you won’t talk to us without any attorney.

Schroedel: I got no choice, so why not. I put myself in a hole already so for all the good it’s going to do me.

Starner: But you will talk to us without an attorney at this point?

Schroedel: I already put myself in a hole already. I know what I’m looking at.

Starner: But you will talk to us without an attorney?

Schroedel: I guess so, I got no, I know what I’m lookin at, I’m lookin at life. I’m lookin at life so—

Orrego: You understand your rights and what Don read to you?

Starner: You understand your rights?

Schroedel: Yeah, I understand them.

Starner: And you are willing to talk to us without an attorney present at this time?

Orrego: You’ve talked to us several times and one time we had a malfunction with the other machine. That’s why we are using this one.

Starner: I’m going to stand here and hold my hand down on it so the machine doesn’t malfunction again. The time right now is 11:20. It’s Monday morning. Okay. Are you ready to go?

Schroedel: Why not, I got no choice.

Starner: You do have a choice.

Orrego: If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to do it, okay, it just shows that you are being cooperative and there was an incident and we want to talk about that incident, that’s all.

Schroedel: I figured the incident was already logged on paper.

Orrego: On paper, but we would just like to get these things in your own words as to what happened.

Schroedel: But my words were transferred right out of my mouth on paper.

Orrego: True. But you know yourself a lot of times, you say somethin, somebody else writes it down, it could be misconstrued as to what you really meant. This way there is no mistake, they are in your words, and it’s you telling us what happened in the early morning hours of this morning.

Schroedel: You know, you guys know what happens, I looking at life. Half life or life.

Starner: How about if we start going over it again. Okay. Is that all right with you?

Schroedel: I don’t mind.

Starner: You don’t mind?

Schroedel: I know what I’m lookin at.

Starner: Okay, tell us what happened.

Orrego: Okay, just start, we’re not going to interrupt you, just go.

Schroedel: As far as I know, I woke up about 4 o’clock. Sunday morning. Went to the bathroom. After that I made my, prepared my lunches. I noticed I cut my finger on the last sandwich. Ahh, my clothes were a little bloody at the time, ahh, I stopped the bleeding the best I could. ahh, I went to check for the paper, it wasn’t there. At that time I was still half asleep in a daze. Ahh, I usually sometimes do sleep walk, I have certain dreams, you know from the past of my drinking, drugging. And ahh, I headed down to the end of the driveway to see if there was a paper and there wasn’t. And ahh, at that time, you know, I knew where I was it’s just that, you know, I walked down the road and ahh, I was in a daze, you know like I usually am most of the time and at that time, ahh I think I got down to Rio’s I turned around and walked back. I got maybe up to Drasher’s and during that time I checked to see if the paper was there, circled back, nothing occurred. As far as I know, I headed, you know aah, as I can believe I headed down town. I noticed I seen the traffic light, I know I headed down 55.

Starner: Which way did you head down 55, towards the school or towards Barryville?

Schroedel: Towards Barryville branching off to my right. And ahh, even though I was in a daze, I was saying to myself why I’m down here for and ahh, any other time, you know, I’d be in a daze and I wouldn’t know if I was down there or not. But it seemed like this time I was down there, but ahh, at the time you know I was, actually I was just moppin around in town and then gradually I just headed towards Barryville. I don’t know what the instinct was to walk up that driveway and entered the home.

Starner: Did you have a knife with you when you went up that driveway?

Schroedel: Yeah.

Starner: Do you normally carry a knife with you?

Schroedel: Usually a pocket knife, but not a big knife. Sometimes if I do carry a big knife, it’s usually, you know if I’m gonna maybe whittle, or you know or maybe clean fish, you know, if I’m fishin or somethin.

Starner: Why did you have this knife with you?

Schroedel: Ahh, I really don’t know ahh, I guess I really don’t know ahh. Sometimes, you know, I just carry it just for the heck of it ahh I guess maybe, I really can’t explain. I believe it’s probably instinct maybe.

Starner: Can you describe the knife that you had to me?

Schroedel: Ahh, it was in a pouch probably about the size of my hand, with a snap clip. Had like a open blade with like you push down a little lever, a piece of like metal lever and you lift up the blade and it would like lock in or lock closed.

Starner: Do you know where you got that knife from?

Schroedel: Ahh, I believe I had it for maybe a year or so. I know, I think I had it one time, I think I bought it or I received it as a gift, I don’t really know.

Starner: What color is the knife?

Schroedel: The handle is sort of like imitation wood, somethin like maybe oak, maybe imitation plastic oak wood.

Starner: And the pouch?

Schroedel: Pouch, um cow leather with a snapper.

Starner: Okay, now you told us you’re walking up the driveway. Tell me what happened?

Schroedel: Ahh, I was still you know, sleep walking. I noticed I seen somethin unusual, I seen a car, but ahh, you know, it just sort of fazed me and I walked up a set of little steps. I whittled open a door, I like waggled it, you know wiggled it, opened it up and then I noticed that I was inside of a home and then ahh, I don’t, I believe, I know it wasn’t my home and I don’t know why, but ahh, I was, I was gonna turn around but ahh I think my instincts, you know were, I heard a voice that said, you know, you know from a previous drunk dream from years ago and, you know previous times that you know I always had resentments of other people that I want to get even with.

Starner: As you were walking up the driveway, how could you see? It was dark right?

Schroedel: Yeah.

Starner: How did you see where you were going?

Schroedel: Ahh, I had like a little flashlight. Ahh, I would like flash it for maybe a second and then just shut it off. I did, I think I did that maybe a few times.

Starner: Did you have to force the door open?

Schroedel: No, it’s, I just turned the knob.

Orrego: You flashed the light a couple of times, you said, so what, so nobody would see you?

Schroedel: As far as I know, yes. I would just like flicker it once or twice and just. As far as I know, yes, I did that.

Orrego: Okay

Starner: What did you see when you first entered the house?

Schroedel: Ahh, I seen like a small little like entry way and ahh sort of like wooden steps, with like sort of like carpet like on them. Ahh, I believe—

Starner: Did you go up the stairs?

Schroedel: Yeah, I went up the first flight and then somethin in the back of my mind, I heard a voice. I think it was a woman’s voice. I know I heard a voice that said, ahh, that ahh, you shouldn’t be there or you should be there or somethin like that. I can’t recall.

Starner: And you were standing on the landing at this time?

Schroedel: Yes. As far as I know, yes.

Starner: What did you do next?

Schroedel: Ahh, I started going up the second set of steps, ahh I think by that time, I heard, I think when I got up to the second set of steps I heard a voice in my head that said, all right you are here, why don’t you stay here or something like that. And then I heard a voice that was totally different from mine and you know a woman approached me, you know, and—

Starner: Can you describe the woman to me?

Schroedel: AM, she was probably about chest height ahh, she had a T-shirt on and that’s all I really noticed is a T-shirt, I don’t know if she had a bra or underwear or whatever. I don’t know.

Starner: How tall are you?

Schroedel: Ahh, I’m 6’2”

Starner: You’re 6’2”. She was about chest height on you.

Schroedel: Yeah, pretty much so, yeah.

Starner: Okay, and when she approached you, what happened next?

Schroedel: Ahh, why you here, and I’m sayin I think I live here, you know, I know I’m lost, I think I live here. You know, I’m all bumbling, and (inaudible) and mumbling and talking weird and stuff and then ahh, you know, I think she said get out or somethin, I said, I think I said I live here. I need help or something like that and after that ahh, the situation was ahh, I think, at that time I think I had my knife out already, I’m not, you know, that lady, when I was just probably ready to leave or just, I think when she was going to smack me or somethin like that.

Starner: Was the sheath on you belt or just in your pocket?

Schroedel: Ahh, it was in my pocket at the time.

Starner: Okay, so you had the knife out when you got to the top of the stairs?

Schroedel: Yeah, yeah, yeah, about that, the top of the steps to probably almost to the bedroom, as I—

Starner: Okay.

Orrego: What about the flashlight?

Schroedel: I had that in my pocket. By the time I got inside the hou—, into the house I noticed, it was like a night lite on, I think it was, I think I seen a night lite off to my left, I think and then ahh, and then after that ahh, when I cleared the first set of steps, ahh I seen another night lite so by that time ahh, actually, when I got to the porch, I didn’t need the flashlight as far as I know, I didn’t need it.

Starner: Okay, when you approached her and she said to you get out, you told her you were lost?

Schroedel: Yeah.

Starner: Then what happened?

Schroedel: Ahh, I said I was confused, ahh you know, I’m day dreamin, I think I said I was sleep walking, day dreaming, doing something. I know I was dazed and I know I was sort of in a situation that you know, I think I belonged there, but in the back of my mind, I don’t think I was supposed to be there and then ahh, the incident. I think, I don’t know, I think in the back of my mind ahh, you know ahh, at the time I had the knife out and ahh I think she approached me but, I think she was going to smack me or somethin like that and I thought maybe, she had somethin. At that time the knife was open ahh, my intentions wasn’t to have the knife exposed open, I was, you know, I was gonna not even bring the knife at the time. But ahh, it just happened like that as far as I know and then ahh I believe she struck me a few times as far as I can remember. And ahh, I slashed her and cut her and—

Starner: How many times did you slash her?

Schroedel: I don’t know maybe two, three times, stabbings, maybe one, two, three, the boy probably once or twice.

Starner: Tell me about the boy, what happened, how did the boy get involved?

Schroedel: Ahh he was right in bed with his mother as far as I know, as I see him and ahh—

Orrego: You seen them in bed?

Schroedel: The woman was out of bed, as far as I know, she was out of bed. The boy, I think like was sort of like half way out of bed. The boy, he was was sort of like skeptical, or shocked, said why you doin here or somethin like that. I think I live here, you know and I know I’m in a daze and stuff and then ahh, by that time, you know ahh, previous or whatever ahh, you know, I think she lunged at me or somethin as I can recall, I don’t know and ahh, just like I said, I think I slashed her maybe once, twice, stabbed her, I don’t know how many times.

Orrego: You said at one point before that at one point when you slashed her you cut your own finger.

Schroedel: Yeah, that’s, that’s you know, I had bandage over it before, you know while—I was up at home making my sandwiches, but the knife slipped and went through. At the time I didn’t haven’t regular bandages, I just had like a couple of gauze pads with ahh, with ahh tape on it and the knife slipped and cut through the gauze so.

Starner: Okay, you cut your index finger as well the same way?

Schroedel: Ahh, no that happened during the lunch process, they were like little surface cuts.

Orrego: Okay, what happens now?

Schroedel: Ahh—

Starner: The little boy comes to you, what happens then?

Schroedel: I think he tried to get away, I think after I assaulted the mother, I think I assaulted him, I think I slashed him, cut him up a little bit and at the time the kid ran, the woman I think she was still standing up or on the ground, I don’t know, I just ran. The boy, he went down the steps, I went down the steps, he went one way.

Starner: Which way did he go?

Schroedel: I think he branched over to the left and I just went straight out.

Starner: The same door you came in?

Schroedel: Right. And I just went down the driveway and just kept on runnin, throwing stuff here and there and—

Starner: What did you throw first?

Schroedel: Ahh, I think a couple of, I think one handkerchief or two handkerchiefs, I had my fingers wrapped up and ahh the thumb and ahh, that’s why I, I guess I got just about down to the road, I wrapped the two handkerchiefs around that and by that time, I guess.

Starner: Did you realize then you were bleeding?

Schroedel: Yeah. I noticed there was blood on my clothes and my arms.

Starner: There was blood already on your clothes?

Schroedel: Yeah, as far as I know during that incident, I believe I assaulted her or somethin, I know I had blood on me so I must have did somethin wrong.

Starner: Okay, you ran down and then you wrapped you hand in one of the handkerchiefs.

Schroedel: Yeah, with one, well actually when I got outside, I wrapped one, cause I didn’t know if I cut myself and then after that, I noticed that I got maybe just just down by the road, the night lite, you know, street light, I noticed that I was bleeding through one like towel or hankerchief I wrapped the other one, but at that time I just I ran and I just tossed I think one handkerchief some place in the woods and the other handkerchief—

Orrego: What color was that one?

Schroedel: Ahh, I think the first one was sort of like camouflaged ahh I can’t really be sufficient, I think it might have been maybe brownish, grayish, maybe sort of like autumn type, or maybe close to winter, sort of like a grayish, brownish, whitish.

Starner: Were you still on 55 then, were you on—

Schroedel: Ahh, I was sort of right by ahh past the bank by then. By that time, I think I might have threw one handkerchief over in that area, I think, the other one I threw someplace probably going up towards Airport Road. The knife and the shear, ahh that I don’t know where I threw that, I know it was some place along maybe 55 up towards ahh, the Airport Road area. And ahh by that time, you know I just, you know opened up the door, you know, I was you know still in a daze and stuff and—

Starner: What, when you say you opened up the door, you got home, you got to your residence on Airport Road?

Schroedel: Yeah, I ran all the way home.

Starner: You ran all the way home, you got to your residence. Did you stop on the back porch in order to get into the house?

Schroedel: Yeah, cause it was locked.

Starner: Okay, you had the key with you?

Schroedel: Yeah.

Starner: Okay, when you went into the house, what did you do?

Schroedel: Ahh, I took my, took certain clothes that I had, I think at the time I mighta had a pair of pants, ahh a shirt, some socks and ahh then the shoes over there and ahh the clothes I you know, I burned them and—

Starner: What do you mean you burned them, you took and put them in the burn barrel—

Schroedel: Yeah.

Starner: Where was the burn barrel located?

Schroedel: Ahh, just outside the back porch, when your walkin out, go down a little, one set of cement steps and—

Orrego: This is the back porch of your house?

Schroedel: Yeah, it’s probably maybe 25 yards from the house.

Orrego: So you burned the pants, shirt and what else?

Schroedel: Two sets of socks as I can recall.

Orrego: Two sets of socks

Det. Srarner: What about your underwear?

Schroedel: Yeah, my underpants, I burned them

Starner: Why did you burn your underpants?

Schroedel: Ahh, cause when I was taking my regular pants off blood got on them, so I thought I’d burn them too. And then at that time I, ahh I changed the bandage, rebandaged it and ahh took a shower. After the shower ahh, I re redressed it again and after that I, you know, I ate and—

Starner: Did you notice any blood on your body when you took a shouter, shower?

Schroedel: Umm, not really, I may have had some blood on my hands ahh, I didn’t have none on my face.

Orrego: Did you have gloves on?

Schroedel: Ahh, as far as I know, no. I didn’t have gloves.

Starner: Did you speak to your father when you got home?

Schroedel: Ahh, he wasn’t awake then. I got home I guess about probably fifteen to five.

Orrego: You just said you showered and then you ate. What did you eat?

Schroedel: Okay, when I got home, I guess it was probably about twenty to five.

Orrego: Okay.

Schroedel: And then what I did, I organized my clothes, got them all set, burned them and then after that I changed the bandage, and then redressed it, then after that I took a shower. By that time I think it was like five o’clock. After that I dried myself and did whatever. I redressed my dressing, put a clean one on, by that time ahh, well I had something to eat—

Orrego: What did you eat?

Schroedel: I had a couple of fish sandwiches, an orange, a couple of oranges, milk, ahh fruit juice and then ahh—

Orrego: Did you think about what you did?

Schroedel: At the time, ahh I knew I did something wrong and ahh—

Orrego: Did you call anybody or tell anybody?

Schroedel: No, because, I wasn’t, I know I was bleeding, I know I did, my clothes were bloody and ahh I said to myself, maybe I did somethin wrong, I don’t know.

Orrego: Well you knew that that blood wasn’t all your blood.

Schroedel: That’s, as far as I know, yes it wasn’t all my blood. So I said to myself, I must have did somethin bad.

Starner: Did you have a conversation with your father when he woke up?

Schroedel: Just sayin good morning and stuff.

Starner: Did he ask you how you cut you hand?

Schroedel: The first time when I prepared my lunch that morning around probably after four fifteen, and then ahh, but the second time, I just, he didn’t notice the second time because, I redressed it so—

Orrego: He wouldn’t have known about that one. But you don’t call anybody, don’t tell anybody. When you were walking to the house or from the house, do you see anybody on the road or on the outside maybe by the diner, by the bank?

Schroedel: Nah, I didn’t see noybody.

Orrego: Nobody was out, no cars went by you?

Schroedel: As far as I know, nobody was around.

Orrego: No dogs barking, nothing like that?

Schroedel: I might have seen one car, probably, probably between, probably the time when I took that walk, I think that was what about between, let’s see, yeah when I went to get the paper, when I came down to get the, you know, while I was walking, sort of like in a daze, I think by that time, I might have seen a car by then.

Orrego: Was it anybody you knew?

Schroedel: Nall, it was still dark.

Starner: When you got back to the house did you check the paper box, to see if the paper man had been there?

Schroedel: No, no the only time I checked for the paper was after I finished eating and stuff and I headed down I guess around probably, probably maybe six thirty, got the paper. By that time my father, he left around probably twenty of seven, fifteen of seven and then by that time, you know, ahh, you know that’s about it. You know I—

Starner: Did you have a conversation with your mother about what took place?

Schroedel: I just told her I cut myself while I was preparing the lunch, but I didn’t tell her about the incident, you know what had happened.

Orrego: How come?

Schroedel: Cause at the time, I don’t know if I did it and then, and then somethin came up that I thought that maybe I did do it.

Orrego: You knew you did it when you seen all the blood on you.

Schroedel: Yeah.

Orrego: When you seen the woman grab her throat right, right, you said that before.

Schroedel: As far as I been tellin you yes, that’s all I can recall, yeah.

Starner: Okay, we are going to end this statement at 11:45,

6 /21/99, Det. Don A. Starner.