An interview with Michelle Theer: 'Night falls–and death beckons'
Q. So, then you talked to Diamond on Saturday, December 16?
A. I did. I talked to him several times. The next morning, I go outside, and my car is dead.
Q. The Corvette.
A. Yeah.
Q. Was that a 1977?
A. 1976. My mechanic that I normally went to is closed on weekends. I can't remember what–I think it was the starter. . .
Q. Did you call Diamond, rather than Marty, why not just have Marty do that?
A. Marty could barely be trusted to put the gas in the right part of the car. No, I didn't call Marty. Marty was there at the house. Marty helped me push the car out of the driveway. . . I called [Diamond] to ask his opinion. This is what the car sounds like when I put the key in and I turn it. Basically, what do you think it could be?. . . If it is just a starter, can I trust Pep Boys to replace the starter, or are they going to destroy my car? I am thinking if I have to wait until Monday morning to get it towed in to my mechanic, my car is going to be out of commission for two days, and here I've got back-to-back appointments from 8 o'clock Monday morning until 9 o'clock Monday night. . . I just couldn't afford to be without a car. So, I ended up calling him back several times asking his opinion about something, between Saturday and Sunday, I don't really remember. I ended up having it towed in on Saturday, but it was to Pep Boys... It was supposed to be fixed Sunday afternoon, and Marty and I were going to pick it up. . . but then [Pep Boys] actually called while we were on our way up to Raleigh [for Christmas dinner] and said that it wasn't done, after all, and wouldn't be ready to be picked up Monday. . .
Q. In terms of the events on Sunday, December 17, Tom Harbin testified that you had convinced him to invite Marty and Dominique Peterson, the boyfriend of Heidi Mougey, the office manager for the Harbin practice, to the office party?
A. He perceived it differently than I did. The year before, we had gone out for lunch, just the three of us [Michelle, Harbin, and Heidi Mougey]. . . And when Harbin brought it up, he said I thought we would go out for a nice dinner this year, and I said, OK. . . I assumed. . . that we are all going. . . but I realized. . . that he was suggesting that Marty was not invited. . . I was shocked to even realize that he thought I was going to drive, alone, on a Sunday night, an hour and a half [to Raleigh] to have dinner with him and his wife and our secretary. And I said to him, I don't want to go. . . I thought Marty and Dominique were coming. . .
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