Criminal Case Wiki
Register
Advertisement

A Family Affair is a case featured in Criminal Case as the fifty-third case of Mysteries of the Past (Season 4) and the two-hundred twenty-fourth case overall. It takes place in the Ivory Hill district of Concordia.

Plot

Upon reports of a murder at the Rochester family memorial, Maddie and the player went there, only to find Leopold Rochester stabbed in the chest.

Mid-investigation, Diego discovered a secret library in the Rochesters' summer cottage. Later, Chief Wright found his girlfriend, Bernadine Rochester, fainted next to a gun in the library, throwing him into a panic. Eventually, the team found enough evidence to arrest Leopold's brother, Horatio Rochester, for the murder.

Upon admitting to the murder, Horatio said he did it to protect his family's honor. He said that he concluded Leopold was a liability after he informed the police and the press about former Senator Malcolm Rochester's visits to prostitutes. He then admitted to stoking the war between the Italian and Irish gangs to boost profits from the Concordia Railroad Company, hiring someone to mastermind the murders of the family's opponents, and bribing officials in Gryphon Sanctuary to admit the family's political opponents in their facilities. Not wanting Leopold to betray him, Horatio stabbed him in the chest with a letter opener. Declaring the Rochesters' reign over, Judge Takakura sentenced Horatio to life in prison.

Post-trial, Maddie and the player went to the Rochesters' library to deal with Malcolm. There, they found his notepad with a message which (per Evie) proved that Malcolm had wired money to Thaddeus Mulroney to release Eleanor Halsted from prison so she would assassinate Justin Lawson. They then arrested Malcolm, who said that the team would rue the day they supported Lawson.

Meanwhile, Chief Wright and the player talked to Bernadine to ensure that her courtship with the Chief was not a ploy to spy on the Squad as Justin had accused it of being. She said that Horatio greatly disapproved of their sincere relationship and that he had something that would make her stop seeing the Chief. Upon being told to search Horatio's belongings, the team searched the cottage and found a straitjacket intended for Bernadine inside Horatio's suitcase. They then talked to Horatio, who said that before his contact at the asylum was arrested, he was going to offer a choice to Bernadine between stopping her relationship or getting locked away in Gryphon. They talked to the Deputy Mayor who was forced to concede that Bernadine was good, despite the fact that he believed all Rochesters belonged in jail.

After all the events, Bernadine and Viola decided to honor Leopold's memory, and with funds from Rockley Rochester, they were able to establish the Leopold Rochester Foundation, which would help finance young inventors and innovators. Later, Isaac cut the Squad's celebrations in bringing down the Rochesters short by informing them of Mayor Cornelius Castletown's murder.

Summary

Victim

  • Leopold Rochester (found stabbed at the family memorial)

Murder Weapon

  • Letter Opener

Killer

  • Horatio Rochester

Suspects

Quasi-suspect(s)

Killer's Profile

  • The killer attended Concordia University.
  • The killer takes antidepressants.
  • The killer collects stamps.
  • The killer wears a Fleur de Lys.
  • The killer wears beige silk.
KPC224MOTP

Crime Scenes

Steps

Chapter 1

Cps chapter1 case453

  • Investigate Rochester Memorial. (Clues: Walking Stick [Cane Crest], Victim's Monocle, Victim's Body; Victim identified: Leopold Rochester)
  • Examine Cane Crest. (New Suspect: Malcolm Rochester)
  • Ask Malcolm Rochester why he was at the crime scene. (Prerequisite: Malcolm Rochester identified; New Crime Scene Unlocked: Rochester Summer House)
  • Investigate Rochester Summer House. (Prerequisite: Malcolm interrogated; Clues: Broken Painting, Briefcase)
  • Examine Broken Painting. (Result: Painting; New Suspect: Lady Highmore)
  • Question Lady Highmore about the Rochesters having her portrait. (Prerequisite: Painting restored)
  • Examine Briefcase. (Result: Open Briefcase)
  • Examine Open Briefcase. (Result: Invitation; New Suspect: Bernadine Rochester)
  • Talk to Bernadine Rochester about her uncle's murder. (Prerequisite: Invitation found)
  • Examine Victim's Monocle. (Result: Purple Substance)
  • Analyze Purple Substance. (03:00:00; Attribute: The killer takes antidepressants)
  • Autopsy Victim's Body. (18:00:00; Murder Weapon registered: Letter Opener; Attribute: The killer attended Concordia University)
  • Go to Chapter 2. (No stars)

Chapter 2

Cps chapter2 case453

  • Investigate Secret Library. (Available after unlocking Chapter 2; Clues: Colored Pieces, Letter Tray, Faded Newspaper)
  • Examine Colored Pieces. (Result: Toy Knights; New Suspect: Horatio Rochester)
  • Ask Horatio Rochester about his relationship with his brother. (Prerequisite: Toy Knights unraveled; Profile updated: Horatio takes antidepressants)
  • Examine Letter Tray. (Result: Postcard)
  • Analyze Postcard. (12:00:00; Attribute: The killer collects stamps; New Crime Scene Unlocked: Cottage Porch)
  • Investigate Cottage Porch. (Prerequisite: Postcard analyzed; Clues: Wooden Box, Rochester Document)
  • Examine Wooden Box. (Result: Wedding Rings)
  • Ask Lady Highmore about her engagement to Leopold. (Prerequisite: Wooden Box unlocked; Profile updated: Highmore attended Concordia University, takes antidepressants and collects stamps)
  • Examine Rochester Document. (Result: Colored Fibers)
  • Analyze Colored Fibers. (12:00:00)
  • Ask why Bernadine Rochester feels guilty over Leopold's death. (Prerequisite: Colored Fibers analyzed; Profile updated: Bernadine takes antidepressants)
  • Examine Faded Newspaper. (Result: Newspaper Headline; New Suspect: Rockley Rochester)
  • Question Rockley Rochester about his father's murder. (Prerequisite: Newspaper Headline unraveled; Profile updated: Rockley attended Concordia University)
  • Go to Chapter 3. (No stars)

Chapter 3

Cps chapter3 case453

  • Investigate Library Desk. (Available after unlocking Chapter 3; Clues: Victim's Award, Locked Safe, Gun)
  • Examine Victim's Award. (Result: Angry Message)
  • Analyze Angry Message. (09:00:00)
  • Confront Horatio Rochester about the victim's award. (Prerequisite: Angry Message analyzed; Profile updated: Horatio attended Concordia University and collects stamps)
  • Examine Locked Safe. (Result: Will)
  • Ask Rockley Rochester about his inheritance. (Prerequisite: Safe unlocked; Profile updated: Rockley collects stamps)
  • Examine Gun. (Result: Gray Powder)
  • Examine Gray Powder. (Result: Javanese Tobacco Ash)
  • Interrogate Malcolm Rochester about his carved bullet. (Prerequisite: Javanese Tobacco Ash identified under microscope; Profile updated: Malcolm attended Concordia University, takes antidepressants and collects stamps)
  • Investigate Memorial Stairs. (All tasks before must be done first; Clues: Torn Rag, Pile of Leaves)
  • Examine Torn Rag. (Result: Bloody Handkerchief)
  • Analyze Bloody Handkerchief. (09:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears a Fleur de Lys)
  • Examine Pile of Leaves. (Result: Ornate Object)
  • Analyze Ornate Object. (15:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears beige silk)
  • Take care of the killer now!
  • Go to No News Is Good News (5/6). (No stars)

No News Is Good News (5/6)

AI220C4

  • Ask Bernadine Rochester about her family affiliations. (Available after unlocking No News Is Good News)
  • Investigate Rochester Summer House. (Prerequisite: Bernadine interrogated; Clue: Open Suitcase)
  • Examine Open Suitcase. (Result: Straitjacket)
  • Confront Horatio Rochester about the straitjacket. (Prerequisite: Straitjacket found)
  • Brief Deputy Mayor Lawson about Bernadine. (Prerequisite: Horatio interrogated; Reward: Smug)
  • Investigate Library Desk. (Available after unlocking No News Is Good News; Clue: Notepad)
  • Examine Notepad. (Result: Imprinted Message)
  • Analyze Imprinted Message. (06:00:00)
  • Arrest Malcolm Rochester. (Prerequisite: Imprinted Message analyzed; Reward: Burger)
  • Investigate Secret Library. (All tasks before must be done first; Clue: Leopold's Box)
  • Examine Leopold's Box. (Result: Unknown Machine)
  • Analyze Unknown Machine. (06:00:00)
  • Seek Rockley Rochester's financial support. (Prerequisite: Unknown Machine analyzed; Reward: 20,000 Coins)
  • Move on to a new crime! (1 star)

Trivia

  • The case title is based on the phrase "a family affair", which means an issue which is private within the family, and not anyone else's business.
  • This is one of the seven cases in Mysteries of the Past in which the victim and the killer are relatives.
  • This is one of five cases in Mysteries of the Past where all suspects have appeared previously.
  • This is one of the cases where more than one suspect is arrested.
  • This is one of the cases in which the killer has to be interrogated once again during the Additional Investigation.
  • In Chapter 1, French painter Paul Cézanne is mentioned.
  • In Chapter 2, the address on the postcard sent by the killer mentions the Framptons, a parody of the Hamptons, a group of villages and hamlets which together form the South Fork of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York.
    • Additionally, the Inverted Benny stamp (a rare stamp of a hot air balloon printed upside-down) on the postcard is a parody of the Inverted Jenny stamp (a rare stamp of an airplane printed upside-down).
  • In No News Is Good News, two inventors, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison, are mentioned.
  • The number 74205 (found on a notepad during the Additional Investigation) is the registry number for the USS Defiant, a fictional starship appearing in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; the entire Defiant's registry is NX-74205.

Navigation

Advertisement