So since things are a lot different in the world right now, I thought I would take a break from my usual type of blog posts and let you guys know about a game that I purchased that is PERFECT for true crime junkies stuck in quarantine. Ever wondered what it would be like to solve a cold case? Ever watch your documentaries and wish you could get your hands on some evidence and help to solve the case? With the Unsolved Case Files game this could be you. This game gives players a chance to become a cold case detective in an attempt to solve a multitude of cases. On their website there are 4 case options available. The one I completed was Harmony Ashcroft and I’m going to walk you through it right now.
This case depicts the murder of a young woman while attending a rehearsal dinner for her wedding the next day. Her wedding ring also ended up in the hands of a stranger (the man they ultimately arrested) in a park. It comes complete with evidence photos, coroner’s report, newspaper articles, suspect interviews, and witness statements. The first objective was to prove that Mr. Bones (the man who was arrested for the murder) was innocent. In an attempt to do this, my first thought was that this man did not have enough time kill Harmony, travel across the bridge, and fall asleep on a bench with the ring in hand. I looked through all the evidence provided, but was still struggling to come up with an undeniable reason why he couldn’t have done it. I visited the website to get a hint, and was told to look at one of the newspaper articles. Upon reading the back of one of the articles, I noticed a warning that the bridge would be closed that night to foot traffic between the hours Harmony was murdered, making it impossible for Mr. Bones to have committed the crime since he had no vehicle. I took my knowledge back to the website and was able to successfully prove him innocent and open the next objective.
The next objective stated that one of the suspects had lied about his alibi, and also provided the hint that we were looking for an obvious lie in one of the alibis. With this knowledge I went straight to the persons of interest sheets, suspect interviews, and witness statements. There were two men that stood out to me because they did not have air tight alibis. One man, the victim’s best friend since childhood, claimed he was at home all night fixing the breaks on his car. His neighbor attested to the fact that he borrowed a tool around 10 P.M and claimed he was working on his car. However, no one saw him before that so I thought he could be lying. The victim’s fiancée also did not have a good alibi. He claims he had left Harmony in the parking lot after a little disagreement to go home and pick up the presents they had forgotten. However, no one saw him leave the parking lot while Harmony was still alive. I decided I needed another hint, so I visited the website again where I was told to take a close look at evidence photos from the crime scene. In doing this I came across a picture from the front of the restaurant where the crime took place and noticed some cars parked on the road. In her bestfriend’s (Andy) person of interest sheet, he recorded that he drove a gray Hyundai Sonata with license plate #64 4435. After closer examination of the evidence photo, I noticed that Andy’s car was one of the ones parked right outside the restaurant at the time of the murder, so his alibi was a lie.
The final objective was to prove the suspect had lied about something that seriously implicated him in the murder. We were also given the hint that this information would not prove the suspect guilty of murder, but would help to secure a conviction. In this envelope we were also given a letter from the victim’s mother and a picture of Harmony and Andy playing baseball as children. The letter specifically stated “They’ve been inseparable since t-ball in 1976. I included one of my favorite pictures from that team (it was one of the few times I ever got in between them). Honestly, I was stumped. I looked over all of the information again, and repeated facts I had already known: the killer was left-handed or ambidextrous and was considerably large. I knew that the answer probably lied in the picture just provided, but couldn’t figure out why I thought this. So, I went to get another hint and was told that Andy had lied about something on the top half of his person of interest sheet. At this point I knew Andy was lying and was guilty, I just needed the proof. I continued to look harder into the evidence and it hit me. I glanced at the picture again. It showed Harmony on one side, her mother in the middle, and young Andy on the other side. On his person of interest sheet he stated that he was right handed, but in the photo he had a baseball glove on the right hand obviously showing he would be throwing with the left. It was then that I knew he lied and that he was guily of murder.
In the next objective envelope there was a voluntary statement provided by Andy claiming that he in fact did kill his best friend Harmony. This case was difficult in parts, but super rewarding when it was finally solved. It definitely is a fun and exciting way to kill time in this quarantine when there isn’t much else to do. I unraveled this case with a friend, but it is perfect to do on your own or even with groups of people. I felt that talking it out with another person really helped bring our ideas together to solve the case. If you want to purchase one of these cases you can find them at unsolvedcasefiles.com or even on Amazon. They go for about $30. From one true crime junkie to another, I seriously recommend trying out one of these games.
Pictured Below:
1. How the game ships
2. All of the evidence provided in the game
3.Picture of the victim
4. Picture of Mr. Bones
5. Image of the map
6. Newspaper article proving Bones' innocence
7. Andy Allen with his person of interest sheet
8. Evidence photo showing Andy's car at the scene
9. Photo showing that Andy is left handed
10. Voluntary statement that Andy made proving his guilt
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