While all of this was going on, I was interviewed by Detective Dexter Gill. When he knocked on the door, my dog, Chloe, barked at him and sniffed him up and down. We invited him in and after he got done asking me questions, I had plenty of questions for him, most of which he couldn't answer. I remember saying to him, "This is freaking me out. Should I be scared?" He said, "You have every reason to be scared. This dog is your best defense. We're keeping a close watch on this neighborhood but you should absolutely make sure your doors and windows are locked at all times. If your dog acts up, if hear or see anything, call us immediately." A while later, I noticed an unfamiliar SUV in my parking lot. I took down the license plate. Turns out, that was the detective who picked up Jason's cigarette butt. A few days later, Jason was arrested.
I had been out to dinner with my roommate and as we drove up Wayland, we could tell something was up. At the time, it wasn't at all unusual to see news crews or police cruisers on this street but this was clearly different. No less than 6-8 news trucks and 15+ cruisers were parked along the street. As I approached my apartment, I saw the crime scene tape across the entrance to my parking lot. I was terrified that something had happened to Jessica or my other female neighbor. I hopped out of the car and ran up to the officer guarding the entrance to the lot. I demanded to know what had happened but before he'd tell me anything, he asked me to show my ID so he knew I lived here. He then said, "Nobody here has been hurt but I can't give you any further details." At that point, one of the reporters yelled out, "There's been an arrest!" I looked at the officer and since I knew it wasn't the guy in Apt C, I simply asked, "A or D?" The guy who lived in A was an elderly, retired professor so I'm not sure why I even asked that question. I was completely shocked, I guess. The officer put down his head and said, "D." At that point, I realized Jason had been arrested and, of course, I knew he'd been arrested for the crime that had happened to Kathy Taft, just down the street six weeks earlier.
The officer told me I could go into my house but requested I not go into my back yard, and wait inside until detectives came over to ask some questions. I didn't go into the back yard but I did walk out on my back porch, where I saw many detectives with dogs, and more crime scene tape. Shortly afterward, two detectives were here and questioned me and my roommate, in separate parts of the house. I honestly don't remember what all he asked me. I do remember asking him about the SUV I'd seen, which he said was a surveillance unit. I also asked him if they were sure they had the right guy. He said, "Yes, we're 100% sure." I walked out front with them as they were leaving when I saw Detective Gill. My dog, Chloe, went with me. Gill remembered her from before and gave her a good rub on the ears. I looked at him and shook my head. No words were exchanged. He just looked back at me, as if to say, "I've seen this look of terror, shock and confusion too many times."
The police were here all night and into the next day. Listen, I'm not some crazy pet person but I do love my dog. I feel like she was a big deterrent and kept us safe from Jason. I think the detectives in this case would totally agree.
