| ◄ |  Transcript
|
General |  Stickers
|
► |
Downward-Facing Dead is a case featured in Criminal Case as the seventeenth case of The Conspiracy (Season 5) and the two-hundred forty-eighth case overall. It takes place in The Greens district of Grimsborough.
Plot
Chief Parker sent Gloria and the player to "The Shala" yoga studio to collect the body of murdered yoga teacher, Scott Morris, who was drowned in the shallow waters of the yoga studio.
Mid-investigation, Ramirez found out the killer had fled to a boot camp course shortly after the murder. Later, Scott's roommate, Lyle Bass, started angrily shouting at the yoga studio owner, Guruji, about Scott's possessions. The team then found enough evidence to arrest Scott's student, Max Gaynes, for the murder.
Upon admitting to the murder, Max said that ten years prior to the case, Scott—who he was friends with in university—had presented a business proposal to Max, who invested in the business. Scott ran away with the money, so to get his revenge, Max had decided to gain some muscle to destroy him when he saw Scott again. He then took up yoga classes with him so he could see Scott when he realized he could not run away from his past faults. One day, he finally decided to exact his revenge by forcing Scott's head underwater while he was trapped in an elaborate yoga pose, drowning him. Judge Powell sentenced Max to 25 years in prison.
Post-trial, Amir said that he had asked Cathy to track down Rupert, who had not shown up at work the entire day under the excuse of an emergency, suspecting that he was merely playing with the DreamLife VR game. Amir and Gloria then went to the yoga garden upon Cathy's direction and found Rupert's headset. Cathy cracked the code from the headset and found that the game offered a game mode that froze the lighting, messing with the player's sense of time perception. They informed DreamLife founder Rozetta Pierre of said game mode, who said she was unaware of the light problem, but promised to look deeper into it.
Meanwhile, Jones and the player convinced Zoe Kusama to try out yoga nidra to help her cope with the stress of recovering from amnesia with the help of Guruji and Gabriel. Rupert showed up afterwards, angrily shouting at everyone, showing that he was truly addicted to the VR game. Chief Parker told the team to visit DreamLife's booth at a tech fair happening the next day to see what they were up to.
Summary
Victim
- Scott Morris (drowned in yoga studio)
Murder Weapon
- Drowning
Killer
- Max Gaynes
Suspects
Quasi-suspect(s)
Killer's Profile
- The killer is right-handed.
- The killer reads the Bhagavad Gita.
- The killer drinks chai tea.
- The killer wears prayer beads.
- The killer is bald.
Crime Scenes
Steps
Chapter 1
- Investigate Yoga Studio. (Clues: Faded Plaque, Torn Cloth, Victim's Body)
- Examine Faded Plaque. (Result: Studio Founder; New Suspect: Guruji)
- Ash Guruji about the victim. (Prerequisite: Studio Founder unraveled; New Crime Scene Unlocked: Zen Garden; Victim identified: Scott Morris)
- Investigate Zen Garden. (Prerequisite: Guruji interrogated; Clues: Victim's Bag, Locked Tablet)
- Examine Victim's Bag. (Result: Loyalty Card; New Suspect: Lyle Bass)
- Question Lyle Bass about the victim having his card. (Prerequisite: Loyalty Card found)
- Examine Locked Tablet. (Result: Unlocked Tablet [Unknown Man])
- Examine Unknown Man. (New Suspect: Max Gaynes)
- Interrogate Max Gaynes about his relationship with the victim. (Prerequisite: Max Gaynes identified)
- Examine Torn Cloth. (Result: Banner [Banner Message])
- Analyze Banner Message. (03:00:00; Attribute: The killer reads the Bhagavad Gita)
- Autopsy Victim's Body. (18:00:00; Murder Weapon registered: Drowning; Attribute: The killer is right-handed)
- Go to Chapter 2. (1 star)
Chapter 2
- Investigate Boot Camp. (Available after unlocking Chapter 2; Clues: Crate, Purple Cloth, Torn Paper)
- Examine Crate. (Result: Tank Top; New Suspect: Captain Clementine)
- Ask Cap'n Clem if she saw anything suspicious. (Prerequisite: Tank Top found)
- Examine Purple Cloth. (Result: Dry Bits)
- Analyze Dry Bits. (12:00:00; Attribute: The killer drinks chai tea; New Crime Scene Unlocked: Garden Pool)
- Investigate Garden Pool. (Prerequisite: Dry Bits analyzed; Clues: Locked Notebook, Smashed Award)
- Examine Locked Notebook. (Result: Open Notebook)
- Analyze Open Notebook. (12:00:00)
- Ask Guruji to explain his unflattering notes on the victim. (Prerequisite: Open Notebook analyzed; Profile updated: Guruji reads the Bhagavad Gita and drinks chai tea)
- Examine Smashed Award. (Result: White Substance)
- Examine White Substance. (Result: Tattoo Cream)
- Interrogate Max about breaking the victim's award. (Prerequisite: Tattoo Cream identified under microscope; Profile updated: Max reads the Bhagavad Gita and drinks chai tea)
- Examine Torn Paper. (Result: Exercise Sheet; New Suspect: Rozetta Pierre)
- Talk to Rozetta Pierre. (Prerequisite: Exercise Sheet restored; Profile updated: Rozetta reads the Bhagavad Gita)
- Profiles updated: Guruji is right-handed, Max is right-handed
- Go to Chapter 3. (1 star)
Chapter 3
- Profile updated: Lyle reads the Bhagavad Gita
- Question Lyle about his ranting and raving. (Available after unlocking Chapter 3; New Crime Scene Unlocked: Yoga Mats; Profile updated: Lyle is right-handed and drinks chai tea)
- Investigate Yoga Mats. (Prerequisite: Lyle interrogated; Clues: Faded Paper, Smartwatch)
- Examine Faded Paper. (Result: Slay Scott Plan)
- Ask Cap'n Clem about her plans to slay the victim. (Prerequisite: Slay Scott Plan unraveled; Profile updated: Clementine drinks chai tea)
- Examine Smartwatch. (Result: Smartwatch)
- Analyze Smartwatch. (09:00:00)
- Interrogate Rozetta about her romantic relationship with the victim. (Prerequisite: Smartwatch analyzed)
- Investigate Obstacle Course. (All tasks before must be done first; Clues: Killer's Book, Trash Can)
- Examine Killer's Book. (Result: Brown Powder)
- Analyze Brown Powder. (09:00:00; Attribute: The killer wears prayer beads)
- Examine Trash Can. (Result: Victim's Dreadlocks)
- Analyze Victim's Dreadlocks. (15:00:00; Attribute: The killer is bald)
- Take care of the killer now!
- Go to Is This Just Fantasy? (5/6). (No stars)
Is This Just Fantasy? (5/6)
- Ask Guruji if yoga could help Zoe. (Available after unlocking Is This Just Fantasy?; Reward: Yoga Tank Top)
- Investigate Yoga Studio. (Prerequisite: Guruji interrogated; Clue: Wooden Chest)
- Examine Wooden Chest. (Result: Yoga Manual)
- Analyze Yoga Manual. (09:00:00)
- Tell Zoe about yoga nidra. (Prerequisite: Yoga Manual analyzed; Reward: Burger)
- Investigate Yoga Mats. (Prerequisite: Zoe interrogated; Clue: Broken CD)
- Examine Broken CD. (Result: Yoga CD)
- Talk with Amir about Rupert. (Available after unlocking Is This Just Fantasy?)
- Investigate Zen Garden. (Prerequisite: Amir interrogated; Clue: Locked Headset)
- Examine Locked Headset. (Result: Rupert's Headset)
- Analyze Rupert's Headset. (06:00:00)
- Confront Rozetta about mind tricks in DreamLife VR. (Prerequisite: Rupert's Headset analyzed; Reward: 20,000 Coins)
- Move on to a new crime! (1 star)
Trivia
- The case title is a pun based on the yoga position "downward-facing dog".
- This case was released on a Wednesday instead of the usual Thursday.
- This is the one of two cases in The Conspiracy in which the murder weapon is an action, along with The Lost City.
- This case, The Lake's Bride, What Dies Beneath, Kicking the Bucket, The Witching Hour, Scry for Help and Death by Design have the same murder weapon (drowning).