Killing Her Softly

"*An Australian hall of fame is brutally burned alive at the Sydney Films Award celebration! Can you feel the heat enough to catch the killer?*"
– Case Teaser

**Killing Her Softly** is a case featured in Criminal Case Third Line: World Dominant, appearing as the 35th case of the game. It is the fifth case set in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

## Plot

Kevin and the player attended Sydney Films Award ceremony at the Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney, in order to intercept Dr. Ernest Newhouse. During the event, they traced a woman's screams to the hotel pool, where they found Stella Mccullum burned to death.

The five people were labelled as suspects: Orlando Smee (President of New Zealand), Kristopher Howse (waiter), Mary-Elizabeth McPhee (country singer), Mitch Greenslade (comedian), and Georgina Mccullum (victim's daughter).

While searching for investigations, Kevin and the player found the card of the man known as Oliver Smee, Orlando's brother, who's betrayed for security reason. The reason was assassination attempt that leading to become the mad scientist and create the Veronavirus to kill people around the world. Suddenly, the killer jumps behind Kevin in attempt to stab him to death. But the player found the baseball bat and hit him on the head. The two escape from the crime scene.

Mid-investigation, the team heard a woman's scream of help in the Royal National Park and found Stella's daughter, Georgina Mccullum, who panickly said that The Sloth threaten her to infect her with Veronavirus if she tell the Bureau about the true identity. Later, Agent Viola Roberts told the team that waiter Kristopher Howse had filed a restraining order against Stella. The team then found enough evidence to arrest comedian Mitch Greenslade for the murder.

Upon admitting to the murder, Mitch said that Stella had admitted to him that she spread rumors of him sleeping with every young actress in Daisywood, which eventually led to his wife divorcing him. Furious, Mitch threw scotch at Stella and set her on fire with a match. Judge Palamo sentenced Mitch to 14 years in prison.

During Hell Or High Water (5/6), Kevin, Glenda, and the player talked to Ernest in the national park, where he told his wife (in a secret language which Ernest and Glenda made up at the Springville College) that SoftCircle had given him a bugged device, which was in his bag in the opera house. Glenda and the player found the device, which Henri modified in order to have the bug disabled and to have Glenda recognized as the device's owner.

Afterwards, they talked to Ernest, who said that Yuila Chadov had contacted him to study a "rare geological specimen". He quickly turned suspicious, however, after having to sign various non-disclosure agreements, receiving the bugged device, and hearing from Yuila that the radiation in the deep jungle fortress was harmless, contrary to what the company had said to the public to keep them off the fortress. Afterwards, Ernest agreed to take Glenda with him while their son, Toby Newhouse, stayed in the Bureau's witness protection program.

Meanwhile, Liang Davis told Rosamund and the player that the scientists had invented a new antiviral drug called Solaravir that effective to eliminating the Veronavirus after successful trials on Koala. He directed the team to the hotel for the drug, which (per Barry and Liang) said that a certain medicine contain of sunbird seeds was able to kill the virus in various areas of patients' bodies. Barry preaches that the medicine has started to work, the patients have been recovered and discharged from hotels and hospitals safely. After giving her the Solaravir, Mary-Elizabeth McPhee sang the tribute song for their favorite actress.

After all the events, Stephanie informed the Bureau that Doctor Lauren Smee had been traveled to Solomon Islands and was murdered there. The Bureau traveled to The Sloth's secret lab to stop spreading Veronavirus once and for all.

## Suspects

**Orlando Smee**
President of New Zealand
 **Blood** | AB+

**Suspect's Profile**

* The suspect drinks Blue Blazer.
* The suspect uses lavender oil.
* The suspect has blue eyes.
* The suspect wears sequin clothes.

**Kristopher Howse**
Waiter
 **Blood** | AB-

**Suspect's Profile**

* The suspect eats meat pie.

**Mary-Elizabeth McPhee**
Australian Country Singer
 **Blood** | A+

**Suspect's Profile**

* The suspect drinks Blue Blazer.
* The suspect eats meat pie.
* The suspect uses lavender oil.
* The suspect wears sequin clothes.

**Mitch Greenslade**
Comedian
 **Blood** | O-

**Suspect's Profile**

* The suspect drinks Blue Blazer.
* The suspect eats meat pie.
* The suspect uses lavender oil.
* The suspect has blue eyes.
* The suspect wears sequin clothes.

**Georgina Mccullum**
Victim's Daughter
 **Blood** | B+

**Suspect's Profile**

* The suspect drinks Blue Blazer.
* The suspect eats meat pie.
* The suspect uses lavender oil.
* The suspect has blue eyes.

## Quasi-suspect(s)

**Liang Cheng-Davis**
Historian
 **Blood** | A-

**Ernest Newhouse**
Geologist
 **Blood** | B+

**Toby Newhouse**
Ecologist
 **Blood** | B-

## Killer's Profile

* The killer drinks Blue Blazer.
* The killer eats meat pie.
* The killer uses lavender oil.
* The killer has blue eyes.
* The killer wears sequin clothes.

## Trivia

* The case title may be a reference to the 2012 neo-noir crime thriller film Killing Them Softly.