Cedric Maplethorpe

### Goals

Make enough money for James' tomb by storing contraband in his hotel for Aculeus (presumably succeeded).
Kill Vick Barrows (failed)
Cover up his accidental murder of his business associate (failed)
Confess his crime and accept his prison sentence (succeeded)

### What Makes Them Sympathetic

He has a tragic backstory, had noble intentions for becoming a criminal, and is genuinely remorseful for trying to make a scapegoat out of his friend.

### Type of Villain

Tragic Coward

**Cedric Maplethorpe** is the culprit of the second case "The Haunted Turnabout" in the *Ace Attorney* fan game *The Contempt of Court*. He is the owner of a hotel who ended up accidentally killing his business associate.

## What Makes Him Sympathetic?

* His backstory is riddled with tragedy as his family was apparently cursed for some reason and literally everyone seemed to die in unfortunate accidents, leaving him the only remaining Maplethorpe.
	+ The curse began with the accidental death of his twin brother when they were both two years old. His grandfather, Thomas wanted to show them an antique flintlock pistol, but the pistol he chose wasn't decommissioned and it ended up going off and killing Ronald.
	+ Afterwards, Cedric's parents would not forgive Thomas and he felt so guilty about it, that he shot himself with the same pistol in the same room Ronald died in. As a result, he apparently started haunting the place and became the hotel's ghost.
	+ It's not mentioned how his parents died, but given the Maplethorpe curse, it could've been in an accident or accidents.
* When he turned the Maplethorpe estate into a hotel to make a stable income, he felt that it was his duty to appear calm and collected all the time. This lead to him bottling up all his emotions.
* His other brother, James got killed in an accident four or five years before the case.
* When he couldn't afford a tomb for him, he decided to try and find a way to get the money by storing contraband items for a secret criminal organization known as Aculeus.
	+ This ended up being a horrible mistake as Aculeus was a very dangerous company run by a very deranged and powerful individual who put fear into the hearts of many and treated everyone like puppets.
* While he did a horrible thing by trying to kill Vick Barrows, accidentally shooting Stan Nyph, and attempting to place the blame on his friend, Maris, he feels genuine remorse for it and apologizes to her twice in his confession.
	+ Also, as Phoenix Wright points out, he did seem to care for her, as he kept her in the dark on his criminal activities, knowing that the whole thing would just be trouble for her if she got involved.
* When he's cornered, his breakdown has him letting it all out and shouting so much that he passes out due to lack of oxygen.
	+ Speaking of which: "So sick... so sick of pretending... Calm all the time... Can't... bottle it up... anymore... MARIS I'M SO SORRY YOU GOT ROPED INTO THIS WHOLE MESS, IT'S ALL MY FAU- I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE AN EVIL BONE IN YOUR BODY IT WAS ALL MY FAULT I'M SO SORRY I WISH I'D NEVER GOTTEN INTO THIS ACULEUS BUSINESS IN THE FIRST PLACE, IT WAS NOTHING BUT TROUBLE FROM THE START I KNEW IT BUT I JUST COULDN'T SAY NO IF IT MEANT GETTING MORE MONEY FOR A TOMB FOR JAMES, I'M SORRY ABOUT JAMES I DIDN'T MEAN TO BE SO COLD AND HEARTLESS ABOUT HIS DEATH I JUST FELT LIKE I HAD A REPUTATION TO KEEP AS THE OWNER OF THE HOTEL, IT'S SO HARD TO KEEP CALM IN THE FACE OF MURDER AND I HATE YOU GRANDFATHER FOR KILLING RONALD I LOVED HIM AS A BROTHER SHOULD LOVE HIS OWN AND YOU TOOK MY ONLY FRIEND AWAY FROM ME WHY?? WOULD YOU RATHER I ADMITTED MY GUILT RIGHT HERE AND NOW IF IT MEANS YOU'LL STOP HAUNTING MY ESTATE AND LEAVE ME AND MARIS ALONE FOR GOOD?!?! WELL THEN I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH I KILLED STAN NYPH!!!!!"
* After he regains consciousness, he gives a full confession and admits that he was a coward. Though, you learn later that he had every right to be terrified, as his employer was not just a crime lord, but also an elusive and sociopathic serial killer nicknamed "The Boogeyman".
* Both Maris and Phoenix express that they feel a bit bad for him in the lobby after the trial has concluded.
* In case 3, due to his incompetence and saying too much during his confession, he is garroted by The Boogeyman while in prison.