Thomas Segan was the victim in Houston, We Have a Problem (Case #8 of Travel in Time).
Profile
Segan was an engineer working for the Space and Aeronautics Research Agency (S.A.R.A.). He had black hair and green eyes. At the time of his death, Segan was seen wearing a white shirt with black buttons and front pockets, the right of which carried a notepad and a blue pen. He also wore a pair of brown-rimmed glasses, black suspenders, dark blue pants and black shoes. It is known that Segan drank vodka.
Murder details
Zara and the player found Segan's electrocuted body at the Space and Aeronautics Research Agency's launch pad in Houston. After autopsying the body, Janis told the team that Segan was attacked by a defibrillator, whose paddles were placed on his head instead of his chest, frying his brain. Janis also found bruises on Segan's body, proving that the killer had pinned him down when he tried to fight back. This allowed Janis to conclude that the killer was fit.
Meanwhile, on the crime scene, the team also found a smashed defibrillator, which they then restored and sent to Theo, who registered it as the murder weapon since he had found the victim's skin cells on the attached paddle. Theo also found traces of Moonbeam on the defibrillator, deducing that the killer had drunk some when they grabbed the murder weapon, which allowed Theo to confirm that the killer drank Moonbeam.
Later, the team found the defibrillator's missing paddle after searching the launch pad once again. After the team dispatched a black substance from the paddle to Theo, he told the team that it was a mix of dirt and blood. However, the blood was A-, which did not match Segan's blood type. This helped Theo confirm that the blood belonged to his killer, meaning that the killer had A- blood type.
Relationship with suspects
Concerned about the success of the rocket launch, Segan tried to convince mission chief Harold Fuey to run more tests, who refused to do so as he was confident in the launch and did not want to postpone it. Segan annoyed the intended astronaut on the launch, Mark Hamilton, as he refused to respect him and saw him only as a lab rat. His work partner, mathematician Betty Hawkins, vandalized Segan's Space and Science award after he took the credit for her work, claiming that she would never be fully respected because she was a woman. FBI agent Bucky Johnson believed that Segan was colluding with the Soviets. His sister, waitress Joan Segan, was struggling to pay her rent and asked Segan if he would put some money aside for her, but he refused.
Killer and motives
The killer turned out to be Hamilton.
Hamilton admitted to the murder, saying he did it to prevent him from going to the moon as he was scared. When Segan walked in on Hamilton trying to sabotage the launch pad, Hamilton got the idea of killing him with a defibrillator shock to the head to stop the mission. The team then handed over Hamilton to Bucky.
Trivia
- Thomas' appearance and namesake are likely based on scientist and astronomer Carl Sagan.
Case appearances
- Houston, We Have a Problem (Case #8 of Travel in Time)
