Samantha's+Whodunit

Original Whodunit:

Cassidy Thompson was always a privileged girl, and growing up on the east side of London meant she expected nothing less than mink coats and white gold earrings. Friends and family can describe her as self absorbed and until she was aware that she was in line to inherit the fortune of her aunt, Cassidy paid great attention to the care and well being of her at all times.

Her great aunt, the ever so elegant Victoria Thompson, had been ill for a very long time, but was doing fine with the medications she had been taking, and was not expected to die any time soon. Since keeping track of all of the medications had been quite a hassle, Cassidy took it upon herself to hire an aid to assist the elderly Victoria. Over the holidays, Cassidy insisted that the nurse take a week off, and that she would care for her great aunt. Exactly one week later, the nurse, along with Cassidy, found old Victoria dead in her bed on a frosty December morning. Cassidy immediately declared that the cause of death must have been old age, since, according to her, all of the medication had been given at the proper dosage.

But as the aid cleaned up the mansion for one last time, she discovered an empty bottle of sleeping pills under Victoria's bed, which had been prescribed the day before her death- enough pills to cause a lethal dosage.

You are the lead detective on the investigative team. Carefully analyze clues leading up to Victoria's death and decide how the case will be closed. Death by old age, or is there another possible reason? Argue your claim.

Hired or Fired:

Capt. Barra:

Another unsolved mystery has emerged from London, and this one might be particularly difficult to solve. There are two possible reasons why Victoria Thompson could have died; old age simply got the best of her or someone intentionally committed homicide. If the cause of death is the latter, there are two possible suspects, Cassidy and the nurse, neither of which have a sufficient amount of evidence against them. However, I have reason to believe that Cassidy is to blame for the untimely death of her great aunt Victoria.

One reason behind my suspicion is the fact that Cassidy did not care about the well being and health of her aunt until she discovered she was in line to inherit all of her wealth. This shows that it would not have been beneath self centered, privileged Cassidy Thompson to have tried to kill her aunt to inherit her money. She clearly had a motive, unlike the nurse, who had an incentive to keep her alive.

Another piece of evidence pointing towards Cassidy is the fact that there was an empty pill bottle under her aunts bed. Cassidy and her aunt were the only ones in the house during her aunts final days, and since Victoria was too weak and ill to leave her bed, the only person who could have bought prescription sleeping pills the day before Victoria's death and leave it under the bed would have been Cassidy. Also, Cassidy controlled the medication given to her aunt at this time, so presumably if the correct medication was taken by Victoria, she would still be alive.

Furthermore, Cassidy is the likely suspect of the death of Victoria Thompson. She had motive to kill her aunt, unlike the nurse, and it is highly unlikely Victoria died of old age because the medication she was regularly taking was keeping her alive. Also, the empty bottle of sleeping pills, enough for a lethal dosage, was found under Victoria's bed, with her death immediately following the purchase of the pills. Alas, Cassidy is most likely the killer.

Thank you, Detective Samantha