Clues & Culprits › Hints › Oct 16, 2026 Easy
Spoiler-Free Hints for Oct 16, 2026
Stuck on the Easy case, “The Marrow That Came from Kent”? Open one nudge at a time. Nothing below reveals a verdict unless you click a box marked spoiler.
Back to the case Rules refresher
About this case
Thornbury's prize marrow weighed in at 61 kilos, smashing the county record and winning £5,000 for the village hall. The judges have now been told it was grown in a polytunnel in Kent and driven over in a horsebox at dawn.
This Easy case seats 16 suspects on a 4×4 grid. 14 of them carry a clue; the other 2 only have something to say about themselves. Every step can be proven from a single clue plus what you already know.
Nudge 1 — where to start
The case opens with Iris the bandleader (A3) already proven. Their statement is enough on its own to prove one more suspect straight away — read it word by word, especially the counting words (exactly, neighbors, between).
The person between me and Kofi is a criminal.— Iris, bandleader (A3)
Spoiler: who can I prove first?
Jasper (B3) is a criminal, proven by Iris’s statement.
Nudge 2 — the opening
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns B and D. The statements doing the work are paired verdicts, “between” clues and direction clues. Tip: with paired verdicts, two suspects tied together share their fate — prove one and the other follows.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Iris’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Jasper (B3) — a criminal.
Nudge 3 — after about 4 proven suspects
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 1, 3 and 4, most of them in row 1. The statements doing the work are paired verdicts, “between” clues and direction clues. Tip: with “between” clues, two suspects side by side have nobody between them, so watch for empty stretches.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Bea’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Celia (C1) — innocent.
Nudge 4 — after about 8 proven suspects
Three suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns C and D. The statements doing the work are “between” clues, paired verdicts and direction clues. Tip: with direction clues, “above”, “below”, “left” and “right” cover the whole line in that direction, not just the next card.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Lionel’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Kofi (C3) — innocent.
Nudge 5 — the endgame
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, in rows 2 and 4. The statements doing the work are paired verdicts, neighbor counts and row and column counts. Tip: with neighbor counts, a corner has three neighbors, an edge five, the middle eight — compare the count with what is left.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Hugo’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Freya (B2) — a criminal.
Clue types in this case
paired verdicts ×6, “between” clues ×3, direction clues ×3, row and column counts ×1 and neighbor counts ×1.
Questions
How many clues does this case have?
14 of the 16 suspects carry a clue. The rest only talk about themselves — you can hide those asides in Settings.
Where is the full solution?
The step-by-step walkthrough proves every verdict in order.