Rhys Coleman

**Rhys Coleman** was a suspect in the murder investigations of fellow runner and student Vinnie Royce in Off To The Races! (Case #17 of Zorro Island), as well as photographer Bronwyn Angelopoulos in Artless Deceit (Case #18 of Zorro Island). He was then murdered in Scared Of The Dark (Case #20 of Zorro Island).

## Rhys Coleman

### Affiliation

The Oak Tree Academy  (Student; Formerly)
 Oak Tree Academy Running Club  (Member; Formerly)
 The Secret Society  (Member; Until Death)

## Info

Rhys was a 15-year-old student at The Oak Tree Academy. He wears a red vest with the number 828 on it, and running shorts. He is of a mildly muscular build and has short black hair, and grey eyes.

In his first suspect appearance, it is known that he has an Oak Gym membership and owns a Clonebook.

In his second suspect appearance, he swaps his outfit for a white shirt with a denim jacket over it, with black trousers and white sneakers. It is known that he drinks aloe vera juice.

## Events Of Zorro Island

### Off To The Races!

Rhys was flagged as a suspect alongside Isobel Pine when Ellis and the player found his name on the participant list. Rhys was surprised to see Ellis investigating, but was more stunned by the fact that Vinnie had dropped dead. Rhys gave a detailed account of everything that had happened until Vinnie collapsed, as Ellis, Rhea and the player all seemed to be taking everything into consideration. Rhys informed the detectives that Vinnie liked to frequent the gift shop when he wasn't preparing for the run, which led the detectives to their next port of investigation.

Rhys was spoken to again when Pedro discovered chalk on a threat written to Vinnie, as Ellis recalled Rhys to have been dusting his everywith chalk run. Rhys admitted to writing the threat to Vinnie, as he wouldn't leave Isobel alone and was paranoid that Rhys served as a love rival in his relentless pursuit of her. Despite multiple confrontations, Vinnie failed to get the hint, as Rhys had to resort to desperate measures to be rid of him, which meant filing a complaint to the board. Ellis then told Rhys that they hoped he didn't mean something else, as the detectives left.

Rhys was eventually found to be innocent when Beau Jacobs was arrested for the murder, but he was spoken to again when Ellis and the player discovered he was a member of the famed secret society. Rhys seemed very quiet in regards to it, as he refused to answer any questions about it, only hinting that the society had connections everywhere, which prompted Ellis to suggest the player investigating different social circles.

### Artless Deceit

Rhys was flagged as a suspect once again when a ticket from the art plaza to the academy was found with his name on it, as Ellis and the player were intrigued as to whether Rhys ran into Bronwyn, as Rhys didn't know why they were asking. Upon finding out Bronwyn had been murdered, Rhys was shocked and saddened, asking who would murder as nice a person as Bronwyn. He said that Bronwyn had walked to the bus station with him the night before, as she left him to go back to the apartment, since they were having a "thing". He then left sadly.

Rhys was spoken to again when Bonita hacked Bronwyn's emails and discovered her breaking up with Rhys, due to his position as a member of the Secret Society. Rhys admitted that he had told Bronwyn of his position in the secret society because he believed their relationship had become more intimate and romantic, but Bronwyn flipped, breaking up with him on the spot because she didn't want to be associated with a "cultist". When asked by Ellis whether the Secret Society was a cult, Rhys flipped them off before leaving.

Rhys was found to be innocent when Natalie Milton-Trent was arrested for the murder, but it was later revealed that he, Natalie, Adriana Sanchez and Nari Freeman were all operating members of the society.

## Murder Details

Rhys was found dismembered at the Secret Society's hideout, with his body parts scattered across various pillars. Upon autopsy, a nauseated Rosa told Ellis, Javier and the player that Rhys was already dead prior to being impaled, as he was stabbed through the stomach by being impaled on something long and sharp, likely a branch of sorts. Furthermore, Rosa noted that there was a mark on Rhys's head from being knocked out, meaning the killer exerted a great amount of physical force to knock Rhys out, meaning the killer had to be very physically fit.

Later on, security camera in the hideout recorded the killer placing Rhys's body parts and fleeing the scene, as Bonita spared Ellis and the player such a traumatising sight and instead informed them that the killer had covered their head with a hood, and since the body was fresh when Rosa autopsied it, it would be wise to assume the killer was still wearing a hood.

## Relationship With Suspects

Rhys had joined the society alongside Adriana Sanchez, with the pair doing it purely for fun, as neither expected the magnitude of what they would have to do to remain in the secret society. Dylan Summers heard about Rhys's plans to rebel against the leader and helped him, only for Rhys to turn against Dylan and frame him as the sole plotter, putting Rhys in the favour of the leader. Sutton Foster was in a few classes with the victim, and seemed to have been introduced to the cult through him, as Sutton and Rhys later fought over whether the society had a role in the murder of Bronwyn Angelopoulos. Bronwyn's best friend, Na'eemah Aziz, had joined the group in order to gather information about who they were, as Rhys had quickly caught onto her scheme due to the pair meeting in Bronwyn's murder case. Also, Nari Freeman had a fling with the victim after the pair had both joined, as Nari worked with Rhys closely in an attempt to ensure the leader didn't go in over their head.

## Killer And Motives

The killer turned out to be Sutton.

Despite some initial back and forth between Ellis and Sutton, the latter eventually admitted to killing Rhys as the final goal to securing the loyalty of his followers. Confused, Ellis asked for elaboration, as Sutton said that to test the unwavering loyalty of the society's members, she encouraged them to volunteer to be sacrificed in his stead, as Rhys rebelled and said that that went against the beliefs of the group. In an attempt to frame Adriana for the crime, Sutton met up with Rhys in the forest and impaled him on a tree, before carrying his body to the hideout and placing it on the summoning pillars. When asked about his motives to start the group, Sutton said that being part of something infamous would make you famous, and that's all he ever wanted. He then asked that the other members of his group be allowed to live peaceful lives since they did nothing wrong, before Judge Vargas sentenced Sutton to life imprisonment for his crimes, with mandatory counselling.