This American Death

This American Death is a case featured in Criminal Case as the sixteenth case of Supernatural Investigations (Season 7) and the three-hundred thirty-eighth case overall. It is the first case to take place in the Midwest.

Plot
The team arrived at the suburban Parkford, Minnesota, where Luke and the player found the body of insurance claims adjuster Dan Kelly with his head bashed in in front of his house.

During the investigation, a mob of Parkford residents accused Gwen of being a witch due to her supernatural hunter look. Later, the victim's neighbour, Florence Brucker, called the police on the team, who then successfully diverted their attention by posing as FBI agents. The team then found enough evidence to arrest the victim's wife, Alice Kelly, for the murder.

Alice admitted that she was a golem created by Dan with the help of a witch, to replace the real Alice he had murdered. Scared by Dan's excessive control and his threats of killing her if she misbehaved, the golem under Alice's guise broke his skull with a shovel. The team then took the golem to Chief Arrow to determine what to do with her.

After the arrest, Gwen and the player went to the Kellys' house to find the real Alice's remains and found a bunch of ashes. Per Agent George Mathison, the remains belonged to the real deceased Alice. George also discovered that the Kellys had a son, Kevin, who went missing long ago. While George investigated into Kevin's disappearance, the team asked Florence about Kevin, however, she had no clues of Kevin's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Luke and the player, with the help of waitress and wiccan Heather Night, identified Agnes Leek as the witch who helped Dan create the golem. The team then talked to Agnes, who said that golems had to be deactivated once they went rogue. After successfully deactivating the fake Alice with Agnes' instructions, the team contacted Agnes again to get the mind-protecting spell they needed to talk with Arthur Darkwood. Agnes said they first needed to solve a riddle saying "strong winds will take you to the land where hearts fall to become crimson blooms below" with the help of a magic golden compass.

After finding the magic compass in the Parkford's main street, the team deduced that the first part of the riddle, "strong winds", might refer to Chicago, which was also known as "The Windy City". After the compass validated their hunch, the team headed to Chicago.

Victim

 * Dan Kelly (found with his head bashed in at his suburban home)

Murder Weapon

 * Shovel

Killer

 * Alice Kelly

Killer's Profile

 * The killer drives a station wagon.
 * The killer eats tuna casserole.
 * The killer has a subscription to Suburbtopia magazine.
 * The killer wears nail polish.
 * The killer has red hair.

Chapter 1

 * Investigate Suburban Front Lawn. (Clues: Faded Magazine, Victim's Body; New Suspect: Florence Brucker; Victim identified: Dan Kelly)
 * Ask Florence Brucker about the victim. (Prerequisite: Suburban Front Lawn investigated)
 * Examine Faded Magazine. (Result: Mailed Magazine; New Suspect: Alice Kelly)
 * Inform Alice Kelly about the murder. (Prerequisite: Mailed Magazine unraveled; New Crime Scene Unlocked: Main Street Sidewalk)
 * Investigate Main Street Sidewalk. (Prerequisite: Alice interrogated; Clues: Donation Box, Handkerchief)

Trivia

 * The case title is a reference to This American Life, an American weekly hour-long radio program.
 * This case was released on a Wednesday instead of the usual Thursday.
 * This is thus far one of the cases in Supernatural Investigations in which the victim and the killer are relatives.
 * This is the only case of Supernatural Investigations in which neither the victim nor the suspects make an appearance before or after the case.
 * This is one of only six such cases in the game thus far (barring the introductory cases), the other five being Death by Crucifixion, Deadly Legacy, Shadow Nation, Lifeless in Seattle, and Pride Comes Before the Fall.
 * In the "Suburban Front Lawn" crime scene, a Suburbtopia magazine featuring the "Living Room" crime scene from Hell Is Other People appears as a clue.
 * PrettyPhone is a reference to Pretty Simple.