Utopian Cult

The Utopians are a cult serving as a minor antagonist in Season 2 of Criminal Case. The cult emerged into the storyline starting Wild Wild Death (Case #89, or Case #33 of Pacific Bay).

Description
Based in Pacific Bay's Ivywood Hills, the Utopian Cult is a malevolent religion known as an infamous cult in Ivywood. The word utopian means an idealistic reformer. The cult, as such, promises eternal life and endless fame, but for a fee, thus becoming increasingly popular among celebrities.

The Utopians are not to be trifled with as they can do just about anything for their own benefit. They discourage their own members to question their actions as doubting their orders and being too inquisitive is something intolerable from the cult's perspective. As the storyline moves on, it also becomes clear that the Utopians don't take kindly to members who want to leave them, as intimidation isn't their only resort to ensure that a member doesn't leave the cult under any circumstances.

Theories claim that the Utopians practically control Ivywood, not to mention the fact that they often apply a sadistic brainwashing scheme to achieve what's best for business.

The cult's insignia is represented by two gold triangles fixed on a circle of the same color.

Wild Wild Death
Following the closure of movie producer Horace Foster's murder investigation, Russell Crane deduced that an infamous cult known as the Utopians were liable for Gaston Dumas's brainwashing in the previous case and thus wanted to conduct an inquiry about their activities. Chief Marquez, however, ordered the team of Frank Knight and the player to check Horace's mansion for a possible break-in before all.

A thorough investigation in Horace's estate suggested that the thief committed the break-in only to leave a cryptic card inside with the text, "To the one who has betrayed us. May all the Stars judge his soul. For they'll watch over us until the Planet is cleansed of the darkness." Thanks to Russell's expertise, Frank and the player discovered that the one liable for the break-in was Brett Nolan, the lead actor of Horace's last film project The Ornery Die Last and a Utopian who—with the help of the card—evidently wanted to make sure the stars wouldn't allow Horace's soul to come back since the movie producer had allegedly betrayed the cult.

Brett wasn't very happy with having his card taken away from Horace's mansion, but dropped a bomb when he revealed that Russell was raised as a fellow Utopian but had "betrayed" the cult—driving the Pacific Bay Police to a state of darkness.

Back in the police station, Russell was infuriated after being informed by Frank about what Brett bubbled out to him and the player during the conversation earlier on. Things would only get worse for the profiler when his father, Jupiter Crane, made an unexpected appearance, requiring the player to search for a contract he made with Abitbol & Sons Studios to rewrite the script for Horace's The Ornery Die Last. Despite of not being very fond of his father, Russell agreed to accompany the player in returning the restored contract to Leo Brooks—the accountant responsible for writing a contract for Jupiter. During a short conversation, Leo informed Russell about the Utopians practically controlling Ivywood—making the profiler mentally unstable by the minute because of his despise for their hostility, which was the main reason as to why he left the cult.

Russell went back to the police station to lambaste his father for manipulating the player, to which Jupiter responded that the Utopians only wanted to erase their trace of involvement in Horace's film project in order to avert being hit with a murder scandal, but Russell went off-topic by bubbling out that Jupiter let the Utopians ruin his childhood—suggesting that the profiler was now consumed with vengeance. Russell firmly believed his father was hiding something from him, thus making a promise that he would expose the Utopians' true identity no matter the cost.

Murdertown
In the aftermath of socialite Lindsay Bannister's murder investigation, Russell was asked by Chief Marquez to follow the player in investigating film star Dick Shakespeare's strange behavior. The investigation led Russell and the player to come across a brainwashed Dick and then his journal, which would confirm the profiler's suspicions of the Utopians brainwashing other people, although he felt that this wasn't enough evidence to bring the cult to justice. Russell then had to question Hubert Bannister about the cult's brainwashing scheme, but Hubert, as a loyal Utopian, refused to answer honestly.

Furthermore, Frank helped retrieve a stolen rare diamond with the help of private detective Eduardo Ramirez. This led to the arrest of fellow Utopians Rico Damascus and Velma Bannister for plotting the theft; the latter, however, was later released on bail thanks to Hubert, her husband. All Russell now needed was more evidence to prove the Utopians guilty of a brainwashing scheme in order to shut them down for good.

Star Crime
Rex Logan—a famous actor and vocal Utopian—was found melted to death with acid on the set of Warzone Pacific, a sci-fi movie which was supposed to star the victim if it wasn't for the unexpected turn of events. The team of Amy Young and the player commenced a murder investigation as they eventually incriminated the killer to be Daniel Lambert, the co-star of Warzone Pacific and a fellow Utopian.

During his statement, Daniel expressed how Rex was untalented and was not fit to star in any film project, continuing that Rex abused his Utopian faith to get the lead role for Warzone Pacific, which prompted the co-star to label the victim as a traitor to the Utopians. In addition, he wanted Rex gone so that he could have some time to shine in Ivywood, not to mention that he wanted to make the Utopians proud. Furthermore, Daniel felt that the victim was not well-synchronized with the cult's faith. So, to fool the player, he stole a bottle of acid from the prop room, threw it at Rex when he and the victim were alone on the set, and configured the corpse to resemble the Utopian statuette of "Adel"—a legendary Utopian figure who, according to a Utopian mythology, was accused of betraying his brothers and breaking the teachings of the cult's faith. Daniel thus fled the scene, hoping that the acid would destroy the evidence.

As the statement came to an end, Daniel was taken to trial, where he was issued a 30-year jail sentence for grand homicide.

Hours following the indictment, an anonymous threat letter addressed to actress Susan Blair was found. After tedious hours of analysis, Russell deduced that the letter was sent to Susan by none other than the Utopians (the profiler had received a similar letter for leaving the cult years ago), in spite of the actress being a recent member of the cult. This prompted Russell and the player to rush to Susan only to find her brainwashed; this marked the third time someone was found brainwashed in the exact manner. The actress was evidently brainwashed by the Utopians to ensure she wouldn't leave the cult under any circumstances.

Furthermore, Lucy Armstrong, a costume designer and fellow Utopian, was caught in the middle of the Utopians' plans to prepare for the Ivywood Movie Awards held yearly in Pacific Bay. Russell was thus forced to quiz his own father about the cult's plans for the upcoming Ivywood Movie Awards. Thanks to Jupiter's "involuntary help", the profiler managed to find a flyer of the awards ceremony at the nearby drive-in theater; the player unraveled the scribbled part of the flyer to be a brainwash order intended to take place at 8PM at the Ivywood Awards, also bearing a note to have gossip columnist and Utopian member Holly Hopper replace Rex as the ceremony's host. The duo didn't hesitate to quiz Holly as a result, but could not get the vital piece of information they yearned for.

The findings made Amy nervous as the annual Ivywood Movie Awards was rapidly approaching, and prompted Russell to make a promise that he would get to the bottom of the cult's brainwashing fiasco and stop it at all costs.

Members
Officials
 * Brett Nolan, an actor and the Utopians' spokesperson.
 * Russell Crane  (formerly), profiler of the Pacific Bay Police; left the cult because of their hostility.
 * Jupiter Crane, father of Russell Crane.
 * Hubert Bannister, father of the late socialite Lindsay Bannister.

Others
 * Holly Hopper, a gossip columnist.
 * Reggie Perez, a DJ.
 * Gary Silver, a businessman.
 * Trevor Neuman, a psychiatrist primarily specializing in juvenile psychology.
 * Miranda Galguera, a retired actress and the mother of late soap sensation Jenny Galguera.
 * Velma Bannister, a femme fatale and the step-mother of Lindsay Bannister.
 * Rico Damascus, a self-proclaimed European Count.
 * Rex Logan (deceased), a famous science-fiction actor.
 * Ted Esquire, a movie director.
 * Daniel Lambert, an actor.
 * Lucy Armstrong, a costume designer.
 * Susan Blair, an actress.
 * Tobias Frankenberger, an actor.

Possible Victims

 * Horace Foster, a movie producer who refused to use a Utopian-approved script for his Western film project The Ornery Die Last.
 * Lindsay Bannister, a socialite who wantonly disobeyed the Utopian rules.
 * Rex Logan, a famous actor and vocal Utopian who was possibly conspired to be killed because of abusing the cult's faith to become famous.

Case Appearances
Members of the Utopian Cult have made appearances in:
 * The Young and the Lifeless (Case #87, or Case #31 of Pacific Bay)
 * Once Upon a Crime (Case #88, or Case #32 of Pacific Bay)
 * Wild Wild Death (Case #89, or Case #33 of Pacific Bay)
 * Murdertown (Case #90, or Case #34 of Pacific Bay)
 * Star Crime (Case #91, or Case #35 of Pacific Bay)
 * Deadly Legacy (Case #92, or Case #36 of Pacific Bay)

Trivia

 * The cult is most likely based on Scientology, a similar body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.