You'll solve this case using a process of elimination. There are 7 suspects (Barbara, Colleen, Diane, Lorraine, Malcolm, Steve, and Walter). One of them killed Evelyn.

Every suspect has a motive. You should be able to figure out their motives by the end of the case.

There are two reasons to eliminate a suspect: they either have an alibi or they lacked the means to commit the crime. Do not eliminate any suspects because they lack motive.

An alibi can refer to the date and time of the murder (July 4th, 2022) OR any other date and time where we know the killer's whereabouts. For example, if we know the killer was at McDonald's at 4pm on June 5th, 2022, if any suspect has an alibi for that date and time, we could rule them out. It's easier to look for alibis on the date and time of the murder, but to solve this case you'll have to find alibis for other dates. Look for evidence that tells you where the killer was at different dates and times.

If a suspect lacked the means to commit the crime, this means there is something about them that is inconsistent with what we know about the crime and/or killer. For example, we might know the killer has brown hair. If the suspect has blond hair, we would classify our reason for eliminating them as "they lacked the means". A lack of means is a catch-all term—you're either ruling a suspect out because they were in a different place than the killer at a particular date and time (i.e. "alibi") or because they lacked the means.

You should feel confident when you eliminate a suspect. If you're making huge logical leaps or guesses, you're on the wrong track. That said, you can make reasonable assumptions.

For example, if a piece of evidence has one source of DNA on it, you can assume that the owner of the item is the source of the DNA.

It would NOT be reasonable to assume that a blue bracelet belongs to a suspect because that suspect's favorite color is blue.

This applies when ruling out suspects. There may be situations where a clue or piece of evidence is not definitive, but suggestive. For example, the color of a bracelet might be one clue that links it to a specific suspect, and when viewed in context with other clues, suggests a particular motive for that suspect.

There will be no "gotcha" in this case, where the answer turns out to be something totally out of the blue, like a faint line in a photograph that you're supposed to assume is a trap door, or a secret code that you're supposed to guess from a typo in an email. The case is tricky, but after you've solved it, everything should make sense and feel logical. If you examine the evidence carefully, and make logical inferences, you'll be able to solve the case without jumping to any wild conclusions.

Because this case is based primarily on a process of eliminaiton, you won't need to find the "smoking gun" that connects the killer to Evelyn's murder. There will be some clues (along with the killer's motive), but the definitive way to solve the case is by ruling everyone else out. If you've ruled everyone else out, and have figured out a motive for the killer, you've solved the case.

There are phone numbers listed on some pieces of evidence. Take note of them, but don't bother calling them. They're not clues.

Pay attention to websites. Some may be real.

One piece of evidence that's not a "clue" is the obituary. It's included so you know what the victim, Evelyn, looks like. Any documents from SOAR Investigations are not clues, but may help with your investigation.

You should solve the case in whatever way is most fun for you. If you'd like to track your progress, there is a progress tracking sheet you can fill out. This is optional.

On this website, there are various quizzes for different aspects of the case (like figuring out the murder weapon, ruling out suspects etc.) There are also hints for most of these sections. You don't have to do the quizzes. They're there if you'd like to test/check your progress and see if you're on the right track. The quizzes are different, but most will ask you a question (like which suspect you'd like to eliminate) and ask you to select evidence that supports your answer. This should help you feel confident in your answers (and not like you got them right accidentally by guessing).

Instead of this being an "all or nothing" case where you submit your answer (i.e. who the killer is) and hope you're right, the quizzes give you the opportunity for continuous feedback as you make progress. I suggest that you complete the tasks in the order I suggested above, as some of them build on each other (for example, figuring out the murder weapon will help you later on with eliminating suspects). That way, you can course correct early if you get off track.

Because this is an all in one game, there is no way to guide you as you eliminate suspects. Instead, you can check whether you're right each time you'd like to eliminate a suspect by completing the "eliminate a suspect" quiz. This quiz will ask you which suspect you're eliminating, why you're eliminating (alibi or lack of means), and will ask for some evidence to support your decision. You'll be asked for different evidence depending on why you're eliminating the suspect.

If you're eliminating the suspect due to their alibi, you should know the alibi date and what evidence shows they have an alibi, as well as what evidence shows the killer was somewhere else at that time (unless the alibi is for July 4th, 2022,in which case you don't need to select any evidence to show where the killer was, because we know they were murdering Evelyn).

If you're eliminating a suspect because they lacked the means to commit the crime, you'll have to select evidence that shows this.

The quizzes might not always display all relevant evidence as options. This is to keep things simpler. And for some quizzes, there may be more than one right answer. Select the most obvious piece of evidence (i.e. most clearly links the suspect to whatever you're trying to show) if you think there's more than one right answer.

Once you've eliminated 6 suspects and have identified a motive for the killer, you can go to the "Killer Quiz" and complete it. Then, you can take the "Killer's Hidden Motive Quiz". You don't need to check that every suspect you eliminated is correct (by doing the "eliminate a suspect" quiz) before completing the "find the killer" quiz. It's up to you. You shouldn't attempt this quiz, though, until you feel confident in your answer.

Once you've finished these quizzes, you can click on the "Lingering Questions" if you'd like. These will wrap up some loose ends about some things you might have been wondering about.