Malcolm Rochester

Senator Malcolm Rochester was a suspect in the murder investigations of assistant Lissa Avery in The Machiavellian Candidate (Case #49 of Mysteries of the Past) and his son, Rochester heir Archie Rochester, in Tipping the Scales (Case #51 of Mysteries of the Past).

Profile
Malcolm is a 44-year-old senator. He has short brown hair. He wears a black suit jacket with a pale yellow handkerchief in the pocket over a purple waistcoat with black buttons and a white shirt with a yellow tie.

In his first appearance, it is known that Malcolm has diabetes, reads Machiavelli and eats lobster.

In his second appearance, it is discovered that he is physically fit and drinks coffee.

The Machiavellian Candidate
Malcolm became a suspect after Maddie and the player met him at the crime scene. He claimed Lissa was the best assistant he ever had and that she had helped him at the awards luncheon. When Maddie asked him if he knew who would've wanted her dead, he said that he didn't, but hoped to help them in any way possible, before allowing them to continue their investigation at his townhouse.

Malcolm was spoken to again about a film reel of him giving a speech, where he ended up giving the wrong one and threatened to throttle the victim. He told them that the victim had given him the wrong speech and made him a laughing stock. He explained that if kept Lissa around much longer, everyone would have thought he was as dumb as she was, revealing that he intended to get rid of her.

Malcolm was found to be innocent after the team incarcerated Gertrude Avery for Lissa's murder. But he was later spoken to about a bill which, if passed, would restrict the freedom of the press. He explained that multiple newspapers had only caused confusion and chaos, and when the bill became a law, everyone would be able to get their news from the same source. However, Maddie argued that the news would all be biased in the favor of his family, which Malcolm dismissed, clearly aware of the power his family would come into.

Tipping the Scales
Malcolm became a suspect again after Maddie and the player learned he was at the races in order to inform him of his son's murder. When he learned of the murder, he broke down in tears, saying that everything was going so well for him. When Maddie asked him if he knew who would have wanted to harm Archie, he said that there was no need to pussyfoot around the fact that Archie had made a few enemies, but said that Archie had seemed more mature since his return from Switzerland. He then urged them to find out who killed his son.

Malcolm was spoken to again about the discovery that he beat his son with a belt. He simply said that it was his duty to discipline his son, and that if anything, he was too lenient with him. When Maddie questioned his methods, he explained that a little physical activity never hurt anyone and told them to stop criticizing his parenting. Afterwards, he got into a fight with Justin Lawson after he accused him of killing his son.

Malcolm was found to be innocent again after the team incarcerated Samson Drake for Archie's murder.

Trivia

 * Malcolm is one of the characters to appear as a suspect in two cases.

Case appearances

 * Unsafe Haven (Case #48 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned)
 * The Machiavellian Candidate (Case #49 of Mysteries of the Past)
 * The Swan Song (Case #50 of Mysteries of the Past; mentioned)
 * Tipping the Scales (Case #51 of Mysteries of the Past)