Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 11, 2026 Evil walkthrough
Oct 11, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Evil case “The Beast of Hampstead Heath”, in an order where each step is proven by the statements already on file.
Play it first Just a hint, please
This Evil case seats 25 suspects on a 5×5 grid. 21 of them carry a clue; the other 4 only have something to say about themselves. 7 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together. The order below is one valid route; any order where each verdict is proven when you enter it reaches the same answer.
Spoiler: show the full walkthrough
Start: Bea (B1) begins the case proven a criminal.
Everyone between me and Emil is a criminal.— Bea, intern (B1)
Step 1: Celia (C1, editor) is a criminal. This follows from Bea’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Dexter (D1, editor) is a criminal. This follows from Bea’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 3: Iris (D2, photographer) is innocent. This follows from Dexter’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Hugo and I have exactly one criminal neighbor in common.— Dexter, editor (D1)
Step 4: Joan (E2, columnist) is innocent. This follows from Iris’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person to my right is innocent.— Iris, photographer (D2)
Step 5: Hugo (C2, tipster) is a criminal. This follows from Joan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Hugo and me is a criminal.— Joan, columnist (E2)
Step 6: Mila (C3, photographer) is a criminal. This follows from Hugo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Ruby is a criminal.— Hugo, tipster (C2)
Step 7: Quentin (B4, intern) is innocent. This follows from Celia’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
If Quentin is a criminal, then I'm innocent.— Celia, editor (C1)
Step 8: Ruby (C4, security guard) is innocent. This follows from Mila’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Nico and I have exactly three innocent neighbors in common.— Mila, photographer (C3)
Step 9: Suki (D4, lawyer) is innocent. This follows from Mila’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 10: Theo (E4, columnist) is innocent. This follows from Ruby’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Everyone to my right is innocent.— Ruby, security guard (C4)
Step 11: Willa (C5, security guard) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Suki’s and Theo’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly two of my eight neighbors are criminals.— Suki, lawyer (D4)
Exactly one of my five neighbors is a criminal.— Theo, columnist (E4)
Step 12: Pia (A4, tipster) is a criminal. This needs 2 statements together — Quentin’s and Willa’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly three of my eight neighbors are criminals.— Quentin, intern (B4)
Exactly four of Pia's five neighbors are innocent.— Willa, security guard (C5)
Step 13: Nico (D3, photographer) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Suki’s and Pia’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
There is exactly one criminal to the right of Vik.— Pia, tipster (A4)
Step 14: Omar (E3, lawyer) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Suki’s and Pia’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Step 15: Ursula (A5, lawyer) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Quentin’s and Nico’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
There are exactly two criminals to my left.— Nico, photographer (D3)
Step 16: Vik (B5, intern) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Quentin’s and Nico’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Step 17: Kira (A3, photographer) is a criminal. This needs 3 statements together — Quentin’s, Ursula’s and Vik’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly two of Kira's five neighbors are criminals.— Ursula, lawyer (A5)
My column has more innocents than Column A.— Vik, intern (B5)
Step 18: Gemma (B2, intern) is innocent. This follows from Kira’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Frank and I have no criminal neighbors in common.— Kira, photographer (A3)
Step 19: Lena (B3, columnist) is innocent. This follows from Quentin’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 20: Emil (E1, lawyer) is innocent. This follows from Lena’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
All four of the lawyers are innocent.— Lena, columnist (B3)
Step 21: Frank (A2, security guard) is a criminal. This follows from Ursula’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 22: Amir (A1, tipster) is innocent. This follows from Gemma’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly six of my eight neighbors are criminals.— Gemma, intern (B2)
Step 23: Yvette (E5, editor) is innocent. This follows from Emil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Amir and Yvette are either both criminals or both innocent.— Emil, lawyer (E1)
Step 24: Xander (D5, tipster) is a criminal. This follows from Suki’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amir innocent | Bea criminal | Celia criminal | Dexter criminal | Emil innocent |
| 2 | Frank criminal | Gemma innocent | Hugo criminal | Iris innocent | Joan innocent |
| 3 | Kira criminal | Lena innocent | Mila criminal | Nico innocent | Omar innocent |
| 4 | Pia criminal | Quentin innocent | Ruby innocent | Suki innocent | Theo innocent |
| 5 | Ursula innocent | Vik innocent | Willa innocent | Xander criminal | Yvette innocent |
What happened
Duchess belonged to Kira, who dyed her with salon hair colour and walked her across the heath at twilight while Mila shot the pictures through a long lens and a deliberate blur. Hugo, Pia and Xander, the paper's tipsters, phoned in sightings from all over north London; Bea, the intern, answered the beast hotline and kept a straight face for thirty days; and Frank, a retired detective on the security desk, supplied the quotes from 'a police source'. Celia and Dexter, the editors, put the beast on the front page eleven times. Duchess is now a minor celebrity, and back to her natural fawn.