The police are very skilled at eliciting incriminating statements with kind, empathetic comments. It makes it no less an interrogation because there was no bright light shining in his eyes and no phone book to smack him in the head with. The police don't do that anymore. The kind, empathetic commentary and sympathetic questioning is more effective, and it doesn't get thrown out of court. Trust me, I do this for a living. You don't win points in front of a jury by browbeating the witness. I can do it with great "niceness".
Just clarifying, since you asked. The point of your questions was to get at the truth, not to exchange information like, "What would you like for dinner the first night you're home?" "How is your roommate doing?" "How is the weather there--it looked bad on TV." THOSE are requests for information.
Clearer, now?