week 9 - trial; day 2

[vicedirector]

seven vices case 9 trial, day 2 ♫ Saturday At 9AM, every television will go off, loud enough to wake anyone sleeping. The calm, apathetic voice will advise everyone to gather in the chapel for the trial. Static will continue to blare in the head of anyone dillydallying. Once all of the guests have gathered in the chapel, the doors will lock. Most of the pews have been moved aside to allow for more space, and a few tables have been set up on the altar. On the first, there is an additional copy of the rulebook, and the information cards of the victim and suspects laid out, with space for the suspects to provide their whereabouts, as well as an autopsy report. There is also a large wheeled chalkboard upon which you may write theories. On the second table is a pitcher of water and some glasses, as well as very simple sandwiches and pastries. The door behind the altar has finally been unlocked. It's a rather plain room with an area set off by a folding screen. Inside, you will find a table on which the victim's body has been laid out. Next to the table, two black and white photographs have been hung on the screen. they are close ups of the victim's body, as it was found when the body discovery announcement chimed. A few sticks of incense burn in the corner to avoid any smells. At 6PM, the trial will adjourn. Everyone will be escorted back to the hotel by Miata, after which everyone is allowed to head to either the kitchen to get dinner, or to their rooms. Attempting to wander off into the other areas of the hotel will trigger the static alarms in everyone's heads/televisions. >Discuss? victim suspects VOTING cast setting rulebook

Comments

recap

[dereban]

So, here's a recap of what we talked about yesterday.

First of all, I would like to reiterate that besides whoever the killer was I was the last one to see Urashima behind the school on the day of the murder. We were both looking for Kamekichi at the time at around 4:30 in the afternoon in which we found Faize, lying on the ground, bleeding. Urashima then told me that he was hurt and then I went to grab the others at the lobby. It took me around ten minutes to get there and it takes about another ten to get back, which means that the killer had more or less twenty minutes to kill Urashima. This includes chopping his goddamn head and legs off, which were found in the void and at the park, on top of the teeter-totter respective. His torso was also stabbed with his own sword and his hands were pretty much cruxified with knives, which seem to have been stolen from the boathouse.

I would also like to note that we went through the void, as there was a trail of blood that led from the school to the void to the park, where it cut off. The trail seems to be straight, but splattered around. Also in regards to the void, that's where Urashima's head was found, so it's possible that the killer either dropped it or deliberately left it there. Faize was also found at the park collapsed, and the bloody rock that was found at the school seems to be a match for his wound.

That's it for the basics of this case. In regards to sins and motives, Roxy and Bill are the only two from this list who haven't seen theirs. Also, Roxy, Bill, and Faize are associated with lust while Lithuania and Rhys are associated with greed. Urashima, I'm pretty sure, is chastity. As for the reason Urashima died, it's possible that he was killed because he was a witness, unless Faize is pulling a fast one on us, although I want to call bullshit on the second one.

Anyway, that's all she wrote, unless somebody has anything else to add that I might have missed? Hajime did suggest that we should look for bloody clothes while doing room searches, but did anyone find anything like that? Oh yeah, before I forget, I hope one of you two brought back the fanfiction-- [ YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE ] you know. For later.

[ Just wanted to get that last shot in......... she can't be 100% serious all the time, it gives her a headache. SHE GOT MOST OF THE IMPORTANT SHIT IN BEFORE TROLLING. ]

[dhaosu]

I concur, regarding the portion about Urashima being a witness. He must have glimpsed the killer, but by then he was too late, and there were light bruises on his face... which I believe seems to indicate that the killer slapped or hit him with something to distract him.

[symbologic]

What did the bruises look like, exactly? If Inaba is correct about the killer dropping the head...is it not just as likely that the could they not have been a result of that?

[dhaosu]

[ He didn't think of that. Good point, Faize. ]

Actually, now that you ask it... I believe the bruises match up to indicate that exactly. The killer must have dropped the head at some point after they decapitated him.

[hopefragment]

Why cut him apart in the first place, though? Like... doesn't that seem like it would be a waste of time?

[dhaosu]

It ... does. I'm trying to discern such a thing myself.

[ He folds his arms. ]

Perhaps in some way of trying to disguise what killed him first. Although I'm not sure why that would matter, considering bisection or decapitation still requires something sharp.

[hopefragment]

Have we confirmed what was used to... to do all that? If I remember right, there were definitely... there was Urashima's sword and some knives there at the scene.

[They're in one of the evidence boxes near Hinata's writeup!]

Can they maybe be compared to the wound? That could give us some insight.

[dhaosu]

[ He nods. ]

I'll take a look into it. I shall let you know what I find.

[symbologic]

[He can still be useful, even with a head injury. Huzzah!]

Hmmm... [Faize goes silent, mulling this information over.] ...Why though?

[dhaosu]

They were in a hurry. Perhaps like in Sadie's case, they tripped and dropped it. Or the head slipped from their fingers, or it was after he was decapitated.

[ A head falling to ground after being decapitated was... unavoidable unless they caught it. They could have also thrown the head into the void... ]

[herbgrace]

[Lithuania nods agreement.] The bruises were definitely inflicted post-mortem.

[dhaosu]

Hmm... it isn't likely the head was tossed into the void, is it? I was thinking it could be possible, but if it were so, there would be more bruises.

[hopefragment]

...Can you confirm that when you saw Faize in front of the schoolhouse, he had already sustained that head wound? Was he conscious?

[dereban]

...

[ She's quiet, unnaturally so when she answers. ]

I can't confirm the injury. But I don't think he was conscious at the time.

[hopefragment]

...Then... Let me present an argument as to why Faize is innocent.

Looking at the timing of it all, the killer would have had to have struck Urashima between when you left the scene, and when we arrived at the schoolhouse. That should be... about fifteen or twenty minutes, I think. If we assume Faize is the culprit, we have to consider that he either injured himself and pretended to be unconscious -- in which case, we'd need to look for any other wound on his body other than the obvious -- or that he wounded himself that badly, and still somehow managed to do everything that happened in this case.

Based on the condition we found Faize in -- unconscious, barely breathing, still bleeding, and visibly disoriented when he finally woke up -- I don't think it's possible that he could have had that kind of a head wound and still managed to overpower and kill Urashima, slice him in half, attach him to the tree, drag his legs and himself to the playground, all in that short span of time. I don't buy it.

[billarious]

My opinion doesn't have much weight as a suspect I guess, but I'm still gonna have to back Bagel up on this one. Just seems way too unlikely. Pretty sure "above average endurance" doesn't cover getting whacked with a rock and still being able to kill someone? Hazelwood's pretty amazing but probably not that amazing.

[hopefragment]

Yeah, I agree with that. It's way too risky for him to just... plan to do that kind of injury to himself and then hope he can still get away with it. Especially since we found the rock at the schoolhouse, meaning the wound definitely would have had to have been inflicted before Faize entered the void to get to the playground.

[muties]

Can someone actually seriously bash their own head in and then still murder a guy? Kinda doubt it. Blunt-force trauma is no joke.

[ in other words, she agrees with this ]

[hopefragment]

Yeah, exactly. Not to mention... anyone who's spoken to Faize for like, five minutes knows how into logic he is. There's no way he'd do something that doesn't make sense like this.

[So... if the murder is more logical and planned out, clearly we gotta vote Faize.]

[dereban]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here, but it's possible that it could be the other way around... in regards to timing. I'm not accusing him, since I personally don't think that he's the murderer, but I can't just blindly trust someone without looking at all of the possibilities.

I have to doubt them before I can truly trust them. [ A shrug. ] But that's just my two cents on the matter. We don't really have much outside evidence to work on.

[hopefragment]

You have to explain further then, because that doesn't make sense. You guys found him unconscious outside the schoolhouse, right? That's fact.

What "other way around?" There was so much blood at the schoolhouse that it doesn't make sense for the murder to have occurred at the playground. Not to mention you were with Urashima before this all happened, so he couldn't have been killed before you both found Faize.

[muties]

[ There are lots of good points in that summary, but Roxy's opinion on them all seem to fly off at the last point. ]

If you're talkin' bout the fanfic I think you are, they better not have. No one needs to read that, no one.

[dereban]

Maybe you should ask them if they read it.

[ Clearly this is the most important part to talk about. ]

[muties]

Before or after my soul leaves my body in embarrassment?

[dereban]

Before, clearly.