Post by Saint on Jun 27, 2024 18:24:03 GMT
Anyone who has ever followed a fictional detective series knows that the writers put a lot of effort into creating false alibis for their murderers.
I recall one ingenious creation from the writers of Monk. It’s highly improbable (but aren’t they all?). It’d be interesting to see what variations people can come up with.
A man kills his victim by electrocution at 6 pm. The killer needs to give the impression that he was nowhere near the victim when the victim died - that is, he needs an alibi. So, he sets about creating the impression that his victim died at a time when he couldn’t possibly have had a hand in his death. He is a musician. If he can make it appear that the man died while he was on stage in front of dozens of witnesses, he will have the perfect alibi. He will be on stage at a local barn dance that evening between 8pm and 11 pm (the episode is set in an out-of-the-way farming community somewhere in the US).
There is a high voltage electric fence running alongside a road about 3 minutes away from the barn where he will be performing. The man drives his victim’s truck to the fence, places the dead man at the steering wheel, and sets the front end of the truck on blocks of salt. The truck is positioned so that if the blocks of salt were removed, the front end of the truck would fall onto the lower strands of the fence, knocking down the fence at that point while sending a powerful electric current through the truck.
The electric fence is on the same local grid as the barn in which the dance is being held. Having some experience as an electrician, the killer is aware that the lights will flicker or even go out completely at the barn dance the moment the front of the truck comes into contact with the fence. If the front of the truck can be made to contact the electric fence between 8 pm and 11 pm, the lights will flicker at the barn at that moment, and everyone will assume the dead man was accidentally electrocuted at that moment. The assumption will be assisted by the fact that there is a large local wild deer population which is known to stray onto the road, often causing drivers to veer wildly to avoid collision.
Here’s the important bit: the killer knew that the front end of the truck would collapse onto the electric fence between 8 pm and 11 pm because he had set it on blocks of salt. The wild deer in the area were very fond of these, so some of the locals frequently leave them about the countryside as a treat for them. The killer knew from experience how long it would take for the deer to consume a block. He knew that if he placed a couple of blocks under the front end of the truck, the deer would immediately start to consume them, causing the front of the truck to collapse onto the electric fence between 8 pm and 11 pm, thus causing the lights at the barn to flicker or go out completely at that time.
Here's the challenge: what could have been used instead of salt blocks in this scenario? Any reasonable changes to the scenario can be made. The most obvious, I suppose, is that the truck could have been placed on blocks of ice. When these melted, the truck would have come down onto the electric fence.
I saw the above episode of Monk years ago. I've written the above from memory. I’m not entirely sure that blocks of salt were used. They were something of that sort. So please don’t get hung up on any of the finer details.
Of course, these things are always complete and utter nonsense that would never fly in the real world. In that spirit, absolute creative licence is granted.
I recall one ingenious creation from the writers of Monk. It’s highly improbable (but aren’t they all?). It’d be interesting to see what variations people can come up with.
A man kills his victim by electrocution at 6 pm. The killer needs to give the impression that he was nowhere near the victim when the victim died - that is, he needs an alibi. So, he sets about creating the impression that his victim died at a time when he couldn’t possibly have had a hand in his death. He is a musician. If he can make it appear that the man died while he was on stage in front of dozens of witnesses, he will have the perfect alibi. He will be on stage at a local barn dance that evening between 8pm and 11 pm (the episode is set in an out-of-the-way farming community somewhere in the US).
There is a high voltage electric fence running alongside a road about 3 minutes away from the barn where he will be performing. The man drives his victim’s truck to the fence, places the dead man at the steering wheel, and sets the front end of the truck on blocks of salt. The truck is positioned so that if the blocks of salt were removed, the front end of the truck would fall onto the lower strands of the fence, knocking down the fence at that point while sending a powerful electric current through the truck.
The electric fence is on the same local grid as the barn in which the dance is being held. Having some experience as an electrician, the killer is aware that the lights will flicker or even go out completely at the barn dance the moment the front of the truck comes into contact with the fence. If the front of the truck can be made to contact the electric fence between 8 pm and 11 pm, the lights will flicker at the barn at that moment, and everyone will assume the dead man was accidentally electrocuted at that moment. The assumption will be assisted by the fact that there is a large local wild deer population which is known to stray onto the road, often causing drivers to veer wildly to avoid collision.
Here’s the important bit: the killer knew that the front end of the truck would collapse onto the electric fence between 8 pm and 11 pm because he had set it on blocks of salt. The wild deer in the area were very fond of these, so some of the locals frequently leave them about the countryside as a treat for them. The killer knew from experience how long it would take for the deer to consume a block. He knew that if he placed a couple of blocks under the front end of the truck, the deer would immediately start to consume them, causing the front of the truck to collapse onto the electric fence between 8 pm and 11 pm, thus causing the lights at the barn to flicker or go out completely at that time.
Here's the challenge: what could have been used instead of salt blocks in this scenario? Any reasonable changes to the scenario can be made. The most obvious, I suppose, is that the truck could have been placed on blocks of ice. When these melted, the truck would have come down onto the electric fence.
I saw the above episode of Monk years ago. I've written the above from memory. I’m not entirely sure that blocks of salt were used. They were something of that sort. So please don’t get hung up on any of the finer details.
Of course, these things are always complete and utter nonsense that would never fly in the real world. In that spirit, absolute creative licence is granted.
