Family to Die For

“Family to Die For” is a Murdoku case from the House & Home category: a board of 6×6, 5 suspects and one victim. Read the clues, work out where everybody was standing, and name the suspect who was left alone with the body.

The Board

The floor plan as the case hands it to you: 6×6, rated Easy, with 4 rooms. Every person — 6 in all — takes a row and a column of their own.

C1C2C3C4C5C6
R1TChSS
R2TCh+CCh+CTv
R3PTCCP
R4P
R5TCh
R6ShSh
Floor plan of “Family to Die For”. Letters mark the objects; the key is below. A thick blue edge marks a window. A dashed edge marks a door.

Rooms

  • Living Room — 12 tiles: Shelf, Chair, Carpet, TV, Table, Plant
  • Dining Room — 8 tiles: Table, Chair, Carpet, Plant
  • Balcony (outdoors) — 8 tiles: Plant, Shrub
  • Conservatory — 8 tiles: Table, Chair, Shrub

Objects on the board

  • C Carpet (can be stood on)
  • Ch Chair (can be stood on)
  • T Table (blocks the tile)
  • P Plant (blocks the tile)
  • S Shelf (blocks the tile)
  • Sh Shrub (blocks the tile)
  • Tv TV (blocks the tile)

The Suspects and Their Clues

Each suspect comes with what the witnesses remember. Read them all before placing anyone — a clue about one person is very often what pins down another.

Alex — a man with a bald head and a beard

  • He was beside a plant

Bella — a woman with white hair and glasses

  • She was in the Dining Room

Cyrus — a man with brown hair and glasses

  • He was on a chair and he was beside a carpet

Dylan — a man with white hair, a beard and glasses

  • He was in row 6

Elsa — a woman with brown hair

  • She was beside a shrub

The victim, Vicky, is a woman. Nothing else about them is known, and no clue depends on it.

How Hard It Really Is

Deduction steps from the first clue to the verdict
14
Steps before anyone can be placed for certain
5
Reasoning the solve needs

How to Start — Without Spoilers

Before anything else, count where each suspect could be if you only read their own clues:

  • Alex: 4 possible tiles
  • Bella: 5 possible tiles
  • Cyrus: a single tile — their own clue settles it
  • Dylan: 4 possible tiles
  • Elsa: 4 possible tiles

That is as far as this page goes. From here on it is yours — the in-game hint giver explains each next step if you get stuck, without giving the answer away.

This case has exactly one solution, and it can be reached by forward deduction alone — no guessing.

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