Joyce’s case
In the afternoon Berta and George Finaway were shocked after discovering a corpse in the forest. They called the police and Inspector David Harrisson, who took an interest in the Finaway case, came to the crime scene with his team of investigators.
While the investigator was searching for clues and digging up the rest of the corpse, their conversation started:
"Good afternoon, I’m David Harrisson. I'm the one you talked to on the phone. Explain me how you discovered the corpse please."
"We were walking with Eddi, our dog, when it started acting strangely and it barked towards a precise direction. Indeed we followed our dog and when we found it, Eddi dug up a corpse."
"… Thanks for your help. I would like to ask you something else."
"Yes inspector. What?"
"Iknow it’s difficult for you but you have lived in the area for many years I think and you can know the victim."
"Okay we want to help you."
"Thank you."
The investigators dug up the victim entirely. The inspector and Mr and Mrs Finaway went towards the corpse. When she saw the dead person, Mrs Finaway started crying and her husband stayedmotionless, glassy-eyed. David Harrisson immediately understoodthat the Finaway knew the victim.
"Oh my godit’s horrible. It’s my granddaughter, Joyce Mackensie Inspector."George Finaway said.
After that discovery, David Harrisson went to the police station to question the victim’s grandparents again. They mentioned the people Joyceknew, his family, his friends and his identity, habits… After that conversation with the Finaway, the inspector knew the victim’s family circle. He said that Joyce was twenty-six years old, she was a model and she had the looks for it. David Harrisson also said that Joyce had a young son, and the father of Joyce’s son, Matt Redford was violent and he was still jealous. The victim had one sister, Sarah Mackensie who was jealous of her success, two brothers, Matthew and Christopher Mackensie. They were twinsand hated their younger sister Joyce. The victim had a cousin, Judith Rockeway, they were very close. Joyce’s grandparents were Berta and George Finaway, who considered her as their daughter because she had lived with them after her parents' car accident. After asking the victim’s grandparents, he knew his friendstoo, Kelly and Bill Rottery, who were brothers and sisters and were Joyce’s best friends since secondary school.
While that inspector was learning many things about the victim, his investigators found different clues.In fact, they found one footprint which was most probably a man’s footprint and on the corpse the forensic scientist found a wound on the victim’s skull and he deduced that the dead person was firstly knocked on the head then buried alive.
After takingnote of this, David Harrisson went to search other important clues in Joyce's house.On the spot the inspector and his investigators tried to find clues but the victim’s apartment was clean. However, the policeman didn’t give up, and by dint of searching they found a little bit of glass from a broken bottle that the investigators had found after searching the place. On the glass, there was a little bit of blood. The inspector thought that the murderer must have cleaned the victim’s apartment but he hadn’t seen this little bit with the blood.
Inspector Harrisson decided to research in the past of all Joyce’s friends and family. During his investigation, he learnt that Kelly Rottery, the victim's best friend had to go to a psychologist many years before because she had hit a schoolmate to death in primary school without any reason but nobody knew this story because she had moved out.
Mr Harrisson had learned too that the victim’s former husband beat her. These two peoplewere the principal suspects, that's why the investigators searched Kelly Rottery's and Matt Redford's houses. In Matt’s house they found a photograph of him, Joyce and their son, Matt looking in love with Joyce but nothing interesting for the investigation. However, in Kelly’s house, they had found a pair of shoes full of sludge which belonged to a man. These shoes matched the footprint found in the forest.
After this search at Kelly’s house, inspector Harrisson decided to holdher in custody. For three days she was questionedagain and again but she contradicted the police’s version. However, at the last hour of the custody she became crazy and she confessed Joyce's murder:
"I confess!I hit Joyce and buriedher alive. But it was Joyce’s fault, I am not really guilty!"
"Explain me Kelly. Joyce was your best friend, wasn't she? Why did you assassinate her? Why do you say it was Joyce’s fault?"
"It’s simple. It’s Joyce’s fault. I buried alive her because I wanted to made suffer her as much as she made me suffer."
"How did she hurt you Kelly?"
"In secondary school, I was very in love with Jim Barraway, the most handsome guys in the whole the school but he didn'tknow my feelings. However Joyce knew it and she told him. It was that day that Jim Barraway, my first love made fun of me. It was that day that I decided to murder my “best friend” or rather my future victim: Joyce."
"So you decided to kill her while you were in secondary school?"
"Yes."
"Why did you wait to kill her?"
"He had convinced me."
"He? Who had convinced you, Kelly?"
"He told me to kill her because she had made me sad in secondary school and because he wanted her for him only but he knew that it was impossible so he preferred that nobody got Joyce except him."
"Kelly who are you talking about?"
"My brother. He helped to kill Joyce."
"Your brother, Bill Rottery, okay."
After Kelly’s confession, David Harrisson decided to ask her brother and all her words were correct."
So, inspector Harrisson had solved another case and the murderer, Kelly Rottery and her accomplice, her brother Bill Rottery were imprisoned for a long time.
By Amandine Vaugon and Mélanie Tellier