1. RE: Case 08-0012 SIMON P. ANO (murder)
Home of Simon P. Ano
TRANSCRIBED ORAL STATEMENT OF Ima Bimbeaux
August 17, 2007; 11:38 am
Present: Officer Sam Jones (star 246) and Ima Bimbeaux
Officer Jones: This statement is taken regarding the August 17, 2007 death of Simon P.
Ano, 1254 Beyond Hope Street in Enigma. It is now 11:38 AM, August 17, 2007. We are in
the kitchen of the home of Simon P. Ano. I am detective Sam Jones, star 246, of the Enigma
police department, and we are recording a statement from an occurrence witness, Ima
Bimbeaux.
Ima, do you understand that we are recording this interview? You do not have to make a
statement. You are not under arrest, but you certainly can have a lawyer here if you want. If
you have a question or do not understand something we are talking about, you should stop
me and ask. You can stop the interview any time you want. Do you understand?
Ima: I just want to help find who did this to poor Mr. Ano so’s I will answer any questions you
wanna ask.
Jones: Just answer yes or no. Do you understand that you can stop the interview any time
you want?
Ima: Yes, officer.
Jones: You understand that all of this will be transcribed – that is, written out from the
recording – and you will have the opportunity to look at the typewritten statement, and make
corrections or additions later on, if you want. OK?
Ima: OK.
Jones: Let’s begin. State your name and address.
A. [Ima]: My name is Ima Bimbeaux – that’s spelled B-I-M-B-E-A-U-X. It’s French, you
know. On my father’s side. I live here with Mr. Ano. Well, not with him. But in a suite in his
house. That would be at 1254 Beyond Hope Street in Enigma.
Q. [Jones]: Can you tell me what happened here this morning? If I need any clarification, I
will ask later or as we go through the interview.
A: Starting when? Last night or this morning?
Q: Start when you noticed something going on. If anything unusual happened last night,
then begin last night.
A: Well, last night I checked on Mr. Ano at the usual time – about 10:45 PM, just before I
went to bed. He was sleeping peacefully and the monitors showed that his vital signs were
normal. Mr. Vios and Mrs. Digger were in the library talking and having drinks and I said
goodnight as I walked by. They both wished me a good night. Said, “Don’t let the bedbug
bites,” and then started laughing. I don’t know why they have to do that all the time.

2. Q: Do what, Ima?
A: Make fun of me because I like Mr. Note. I mean, he don’t really even know I exist. So,
why they got to keep making fun of me? I never should have said anything to Mrs. Digger.
Q: I am sorry, I don’t understand what you are talking about. What does Mr. Note have to do
with this?
A:. Oh, his nickname is Bites. I don’t know why they call him that. But, that’s what they
meant when they said, “Don’t let the bedbug bites.” They was referring to him because I told
Mrs. Digger that I really liked Mr. Note. Only, he isn’t at all interested in me. So she told Mr.
Vios about it and they enjoy making fun of me about it.
Q: And who is Mr. Note?
A: He is one of Mr. Ano’s business partners. I think they have known each other since they
were in elementary school. Mr. Note comes over to visit Mr. Ano all the time. Lately, he has
been here almost every day and Mr. Ano has been real excited about some project he’s
been working on. He keeps wanting Mr. Note to come over and help him with this project.
Q: OK, we will go back to that in a minute. Can you tell me what happened after that?
A: Well, I went to my suite and started watching reruns of Law and Order and then I fell
asleep. I didn’t wake up until this morning at 6:45. I thought my alarm was ringing. I use my
cell phone as an alarm all the time now because it tells me the time and I can set an alarm
and get calls at the same time. But it wasn’t my cell phone. I don’t know what I did with my
cell phone. I couldn’t find it anywhere this morning. Anyway, I realized that the sound was
coming from Mr. Ano’s monitors, so I ran down stairs and that is where I found him. I just
knew he was dead when I ran in the room, and I didn’t know what else to do so I called
9-1-1.
His thumbnails and lips were blue. That’s the first time I ever lost a patient. (Sobbing).
Q: Would you like a glass of water, Ima?
A: No, no, I will be okay.
Q: What did you do next?
A: While I was waiting, I turned off his oxygen, other support and monitors.
Q: So his support was on when you went into the room this morning?
A: Yes, it was. But I didn’t see any reason to keep it on, with him being dead and all.
Q: And where was Mrs. Digger this morning?
A: Well, I don’t like to speak poorly of people, but her and Mr. Vios came down the stairs at
the same time, giggling. They didn’t know anything was going on but when they saw me,

3. Mrs. Digger started blushing. She asked what I was doing and I told her that Mr. Ano was
dead. Then, she fell against Mr. Vios and started crying.
Q: Did she ask you anything about how you knew or what happened?
A: No, she just kept crying and crying and crying.
Q: How long have you been working for Mr. Ano, Ima?
A: I have been here for three years. Mr. Vios hired me after I answered an ad in the paper.
Q: And what does Mr. Vios have to do with Mr. Ano?
A: Mr. Vios is Mr. Ano’s other business partner. He spends most of his time here with Mr.
Ano and with her.
Q: By her, you mean Mrs. Digger?
A: Yes, that’s right.
Q: Can you tell us what happened to Mr. Ano - how he came to be paralyzed?
A: Well, it was in 2000, I think. Yea, it was. On Valentine’s Day. Mr. Ano was scheduled to
play at Carnegie Hall. He told me once that he had always dreamed of doing that since he
was a child. He used to play the piano real pretty. I have heard some of his records. Have
you ever heard him play? On his CD or record, I mean?
Q: I am sorry, Ima. I sure haven’t. Please continue.
A: Oh, OK. Well, when he was driving to New York that day, he had a real bad wreck. They
couldn’t find any other cars so it seems like he just lost control of his car. Mr. Note said that
was real unusual because Mr. Ano was always a real careful driver. And they also weren’t
sure why he drove into the town of Fishkill anyway. Mr. Ano says he doesn’t remember
anything except waking up in the hospital. He was in a coma a long time and they didn’t
know if he would ever wake up. When he woke up, he found out that he was quadriplegic.
Mrs. Digger says that he really had a hard time adjusting and would have periods when he
didn’t seem to want to live.
When I first came to take care of Mr. Ano, three years ago, he was real depressed. He used
to tell me that he couldn’t play the piano or compose music, so he really didn’t know why he
should keep living. They don’t know it, but one day I overheard Mr. Ano talking to his wife,
begging her to just end it. To just kill him. He said she had the pills; she could just give them
to him and no one would know.
That made Mrs. Digger real upset. She started crying and saying she would never do that.
Later that day, I saw her talking to Mr. Vios and she was crying. He was telling her not to
worry, that Mr. Ano was just having a bad day.
After that, I never heard them talk about it again, but Mr. Ano seemed real depressed until a
couple of months ago. Then all of a sudden he was happy. I don’t know why he changed,
but I am glad he did. Only now it doesn’t matter because he is dead, right?

4. Q: Do you know why Ano’s wife kept her maiden name, Digger?
A: Well, she used to be in the theater. That’s how they met. Mr. Ano saw her in a play in
New York. She told me that she hoped to continue acting in the future and didn’t want to
change her name because people might forget who she was.
Q: Did it seem like Mr. Ano and his wife got along well with each other?
A: Yes, it seems like he really loved her. Some people say she just married him for the
money. And sometimes I wondered because of her and Mr. Vios and all. You know, it
seems like they had a thing going. But, most of the time, it seems like she really cared about
him. She would read to him almost every night before she went to bed and was always
encouraging him to try to do different things even though he was quadriplegic. She said she
found this website that had lots of tools that could help him. At first he didn’t listen, but she
kept talking about it and telling him he could play music again. Maybe that’s why he has
been happy lately. Maybe she figured some way he could do that – play music I mean. That
really meant a lot to him.
Mr. Ano said he wanted her to be there for him for a long time to come. So, he was always
trying to get her to quit smoking. Said that he loved her too much to lose her to cancer. She
tried different things to quit, but she didn’t seem to be able to. That seemed to make him
sad.
Q: Ima, I understand that a couple of times you have had problems with the equipment in
Mr. Ano’s room. Can you tell us about that?
A: Well, even though I try to be real careful, sometimes I get mixed up and forget to turn
things on or off. But, nothing has been that bad and I always get it right, eventually. I am real
sorry that has happened.
Q: Do you know what the beeping noise was that sounded like it was coming from under Mr.
Ano?
A: Well, the only thing I can think of is the Baclofen pump. But, the service maintenance guy
just came in two weeks ago to fill it, calibrate the medication and check the programming, so
I don’t know why it would be beeping.
Q: So, when you went to bed, Mrs. Digger and Mr. Vios were still up?
A: That’s right.
Q: And do you know what time she went to bed?
A: No, I don’t have any idea. I’ve had trouble sleeping for a couple of weeks and I took some
sleeping pills to help me get to sleep. I slept right through until I heard the alarm this
morning.
Q: You said earlier that you thought that Mrs. Digger and Mr. Vios had a thing going. What
makes you say that?

5. A: Well, they was all the time whispering and she was always giggling when he was around.
She made those eyes at him when she thought I couldn’t see. I also saw Mr. Vios sneaking
down the stairs late at night sometimes when I was having trouble sleeping. Just me and
Mrs. Digger live upstairs, so it is the only place he could have been coming from. I don’t
think Mr. Ano knew anything was going on because he was always asking Mr. Vios to come
over and spend time with the two of them.
Sometimes Mr. Ano would ask Mr. Vios to take her to the theater or to the opera. At first she
would say no, but he kept telling her to go. He wanted her to be happy and enjoy life even
though he couldn’t go with her.
After awhile, they just gave in and went together whenever Mr. Ano asked them to. Maybe
that’s how the whole thing started.
Q: Do you know if Mr. Vios stayed at the house all night last night?
A: No, like I said, I was real tired and I took something to help me sleep. All I know is that he
was here when I went to bed and I saw him coming down the stairs this morning.
Q: Did he have the same clothes on this morning?
A: Well, no, now that I think about it.
Q: Okay. I think that is all for now. If I have any additional questions, can I give you a call?
Bimbeaux: Of course. Just find who did this to Mr. Ano. He was such a nice man and he
seemed so happy lately.
Jones: We are going to do everything that we can, Ima. Thank you for your help.
I have read the above statement, and it is a true and accurate transcript of the interview I
gave on the above date and time.
Ima Bimbeaux 8/17/07
Ima Bimbeaux