A subpage of the Criminal Case game, focusing on major characters for the first season.
Major spoilers abound.
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The Grimsborough PD
David Jeremiah Jones
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In note
In A detective in the Grimsborough Police Department who is assigned to work with your player character from the start of the game.
- Agent Scully: Four murders at the Historical Center are attributed to paranormal activity, but he keeps dismissing them, always insisting that the victims were killed by fellow human beings.
- Bad Liar: In one side-quest, while retrieving a hooker's lost purse, Jones convinces you to go through it to make sure it's really hers. Later, when the woman asks Jones if her purse was searched, he tries to deny it...but she calls him out on lying, while saying that a woman can know when her stuff's been searched.
- Beard of Sorrow: After Chief King's suicide, Jones grows some stubble for a few cases. He also grows his beard out after the events of Misty Grove.
- Big Eater: He especially likes hot dogs, but he'll jump for hamburgers and pastries as well, and he's always eager to attend functions with buffet lines. His appetite is lampshaded in Case 31, during a discussion about the annual Dog Pageant:Jones: Dog Pageant Day! I've been waiting for this for weeks! They say the buffet is sublime, all the best cooks participate!Chief King: ...Jones, do you ever think of anything else besides eating?
- A reporter in the University further lampshades this by asking the player if Jones thinks about anything else other than eating. He's not amused.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: In Case 41, he gets briefly hypnotized by the Rorschach Reaper into nearly killing the player character.
- The Bus Came Back: He makes a guest return in Case 13 of City of Romance as one of your suspects.
- Butt-Monkey: Usually whenever garbage or sewers are involved.
- The Cameo: Even after Grimsborough ends, little pictures and doodles of Jones can be seen, and sometimes even collected. There's even a picture of Jones in the Bureau's break room.
- Character Development: In the five years that the player had been away from Grimsborough, Jones is shown to be much more calm and mature, although he still has moments where his temper gets the better of him.
- Covert Pervert: Expect him to suck up any compliment given to him by a beautiful woman, or to make an excuse to go see a pretty female suspect.
- Cowboy Cop: Usually exhibits shades of this whenever Tony Marconi or other known criminals are involved. In Case 11, it results in Marconi's lawyers filing a restraining order against him.
- Crazy-Prepared: In Maple Heights, he brings his uniform when he's normally wearing civilian clothes. Even on a golf course.
- Deadpan Snarker: Falls into this from time to time. For example, when confronting food critic Tobias Sharp over a bottle of wine the latter refused to pay for during a side-quest in Case 17:Jones: Mr. Sharp, we analyzed your wine. And I'm not in fact surprised you drank the entire bottle...this wine was perfectly good!Sharp: What are you saying? It's insane! I refuse to pay for a bottle of corked wine!Jones: Would you rather come with us to the police office? There are some comfortable cells if you need one, but I'm afraid the food isn't great.
- Defective Detective: Jones isn't a bad investigator, per se, in spite of your player character's growing skills overshadowing his own at times. However, he reveals at one point that his obsession with his work prompted his ex-wife to suggest he go for therapy, and then she eventually left him because the job was putting incredible strain on their marriage.
- Doom Magnet: The game's plot is to investigate homicides, but people tend to die when Jones goes somewhere in his off-time. Whether he's taking the player out to eat, going to a football game, invited to a wedding, someone's going to end up dead by the end.
- Driven to Suicide: In Case 52 of The Conspiracy, he ingests an entire bottle of drugs after Zoe's death. Luckily, he manages to survive.
- Exhausted Eye Bags: He wasn't sleeping well after Chief King's suicide, and spends most of his appearance in the Airport district with dark rings under his eyes. He gains this again after the events of Misty Grove.
- Expressive Hair: Only when he's surprised, but it stands on end like a cat's.
- Eye Scream: He loses his left eye after the explosion during the finale of The Conspiracy. Afterwards, he begins wearing an eyepatch.
- Heroic BSoD: He breaks down in Case 21 after finding and identifying Rachel Priest's remains.
- He has a huge one in The Conspiracy during Misty Grove, due to Rupert's death, being falsely accused of murder by Rozetta Pierre, forced to arrest his girlfriend for murder and being suspected of Tony Marconi's murder himself. It's so bad that he nearly quits the force. And then later when Zoe ends up being killed, so much that it drives him into attempting suicide.
- Hot-Blooded: At least once a case, Jones is shown with a flush-red forehead and storm clouds over his head.
- Implied Love Interest: He gets very bothered over Rachel Priest. He's practically beside himself with worry when her cameraman says she's disappeared and is utterly devastated when she dies. Nothing explicit is ever stated, though, because, again, she dies.
- Last-Name Basis: Everyone refers to him by his surname. In fact, his first name isn't revealed until Case 26, and his middle name is revealed in Case 35.
- Manly Tears: Jones is crying with pride when the player character finishes the Grimsborough cases and is going to Pacific Bay.
- Made of Iron: Not only has he survived being poisoned and attempting suicide but he gets caught in an explosion during the final case of The Conspiracy and only lost an eye.
- Perp Sweating: Is good at this. It doesn't work all the time, though, at least not against the more hardened crooks you and he interrogate.
- Precision F-Strike: It's censored, usually, but if someone has to swear in Grimsborough, it's Jones.
- The Resenter: To the player character, as hinted by the Rorschach Reaper.Rorschach Reaper: You wouldn't know about being brilliant, would you, Officer Jones? (player's rank and name)'s dog, always following, always praising, always failing...It's unbearable, isn't it? Living in (player's rank and name)'s shadow, being endlessly scolded for failing to meet their standards...So much frustration, Officer Jones...It has to stop, hasn't it? It can't go on forever, it has to stop now. Now and forever. And there's only one thing to do. The right thing.
- Series Mascot: Even with tons of characters getting introduced in all seasons of the game, Jones indisputably continues being the face of the franchise.
- Shipper on Deck: For Alex and Cathy.
- Spiky Hair: His hair actually sticks straight up at the front. In his more realistic picture in the game's start-up loading screen, his hair displays little spikes from front to back.
- Staircase Tumble: At the end of Case 41, he gets a head injury resulting from this right before the killer's arrest. Or so he thinks; see Ramirez's entry below.
- Sweet Tooth: While Jones's Trademark Favorite Food is hot dogs, he'll eat most anything, especially sweets. When brought cookies by Margaret Littlewood, his sprite is usually double-fisting them.
- Trauma Conga Line: The events of Misty Grove were not kind to Jones.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Jones is never enthusiastic about hunting for clues in garbage or sewers, always insisting that you be the one to take on such assignments instead. Naturally, in Case 11 King orders Jones to be the one to dive for clues in a sewer...
and while Jones finds nothing in the sewer-water, you manage to find clues while staying nice and dry.
Grace Delaney
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The head of the Grimsborough PD's forensics laboratory, she analyzes different clues for trace evidence and helps you identify unknown substances that come up during investigation.
In - Advertised Extra: Among the cast of Grimsborough, she appears the most frequently in promotional images, aside from Jones. But while she does have A Day in the Limelight moments, she plays no major role in the overall season's arc, and makes less significant contributions compared to Cathy or Ramirez. Although she does return late in World Edition as the Bureau's new coroner.
- Berserk Button:
- Harming dogs is a no-no with her. Witness her response to Case 31's murder, which also included the death of the victim's dog:
Grace: I can't believe someone did this! Killing a harmless dog, the monsters!Jones: They've also killed a human being...Grace: Yes, of course, that's tragic too. But the poor dog, what did it have to do with human feuds?!- When her boyfriend gets flagged as a suspect during the University arc, Jones was feeling nothing but dread when she finds out.
- The Bus Came Back: Disappearing after Grimsborough, she's nominated as a replacement coroner for the Bureau after Angela is found to be a SOMBRA mole. When reached in Antarctica, she is a coroner in addition to providing lab work, filling in while Lars is spending time with his daughters.
- Cleavage Window: Not in the game itself, but in one of promotional images
◊ for Facebook Anniversary Sale. - The Coroner: After replacing Angela in World Edition.
- A Day in the Limelight: Case 48 has Grace accompany your player character in solving the case, since Jones is being kept busy with a multitude of complaints against him for rudeness to Maple Heights residents (and being pulled from the case due to it being too serious for him). Grace gets the chance to wear an outfit very similar to Jones's usual getup.
- Eagle-Eye Detection: Given that her job as a trace evidence analyst, being sharp-eyed and catching minuscule details are part and parcel of her job description.
- Fiery Redhead: Her fiery part is full-blown shown when her fiancé becomes a suspect in one case.
- Friend to All Children: She's good in handling and talking to children, such as Isaac Hersberger and Sarah Mills.
- Heroes Love Dogs: Grace is an animal lover in general, but she especially likes dogs. Consequently, she doesn't react well when she learns that a lost puppy, which you recover during your investigations in a side-quest in Case 6 and which she later adopts, was being trained for dog-fighting.Grace: They're monsters! Look at how this puppy has been abused already! No wonder it ran away!
- Never Heard That One Before: Gets this in Case 7, and not for the first time.Jones: You really are amazing, Grace!Grace: As if I hadn't heard that joke a thousand times before. (blushes) But thank you, silly.
- Offscreen Breakup: When the player encounters her in Season 3, Grace has broken her engagement to Luke Harris in order to pursue her research ambitions.
- Science Hero: Comes with the territory of being a forensic analyst.
- The Smurfette Principle: The only female member of the Season 1 Grimsborough PD
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Even though she's now a member of the Bureau, after the organization officially disbands, she is nowhere to be seen and nary a mention was made of her when the player returns to Grimsborough.
Nathan Pandit
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In The Grimsborough PD's medical examiner, his main role is to outline how the victims of each case died.
- Back for the Dead: Nathan is the very first victim of The Conspiracy season, sadly just before he can have a reunion with Jones and the player.
- Bollywood Nerd: His Indian heritage was revealed in Case 38, when his last name was revealed. Given his proficiency in medical training and ability to analyze aspects of the killer's psychological profile from some of his autopsies, he definitely counts as smart.
- The Coroner: The Chief Medical Examiner of Grimsborough PD, who conducts autopsies on the victims' bodies and analyzes murder weapons.
- Deadpan Snarker:
- One example, during Case 4:
Nathan: I've got several things for you. Dan was stabbed in the stomach with a sharp object, probably a knife. From the angle of the wounds, I can tell you that your killer is left-handed!Jones: You can't seriously see that from a gash, can you?!Nathan: (raised eyebrow) I wouldn't work here if I couldn't.- Another example from Case 13, after Nathan's just finished his autopsy of a victim of a bomb attack that severed both of the man's legs:
Nathan: Thanks for the puzzle, guys. It's the first time I get a bomb victim on my table! - Eagle-Eye Detection: Given how even tiny details can be vital in figuring out how someone died, it makes sense that he's so good at spying even minuscule details.
- Friend to All Living Things: After retiring from police work, he becomes the vet at the zoo.
- Last-Minute Hookup: The season finale reveals that he's started dating Harper Stone, the snake trainer from Case 50.
- Nature Lover: Nathan is clearly a nature freak. Not only is he a member of a local botanic club, he enjoys babbling about plants and animals while talking about autopsy results.
- Nightmare Fetishist: He sees absolutely nothing wrong with keeping a piranha as a pet. Keep in mind, said piranha was one of a batch that had just eaten a person.
- The Profiler: Plays this role in Case 15, while describing how the victim died and what type of person might do it.Nathan: The interesting thing is, your victim was tied up post-mortem. It's as if the killer wanted to subdue her even more. As if killing her hadn't been enough. You're probably looking for someone who felt humiliated by Aileen. Someone who wanted to regain control over her.
- Real Men Wear Pink: He's a member of local botanic club Orchids Fanatics, as shown here◊.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: The glasses part is obvious since they're part of his sprite's wardrobe. Given that his job requires medical training and he can even profile the killers based on what he sees about the corpses, the smart part is also fairly clear.
Alex Turner
- A Day in the Limelight: Replaces Jones as the player character's partner in case 37, because he's more familiar to the Sci-fi related stuff involved in the case.
- Fanboy: He's a big fan of the Ripper Jade doll- er, action figure series. He's also quite hyped about the Beyond the Void radio series, hosted by Alcott Milton. Also dresses up as Captain Simple when going to a comic convention.
- Demoted to Extra: He goes from being a main character in Season 1 to a recurring one in Season 5, with Cathy becoming the new tech expert for the Grimsborough Police Department.
- Gadgeteer Genius / Mr. Fixit: A lot of his job involves extracting data from broken electronics.
- Happily Married: With Cathy as of Season 5.
- House Husband: Outright calls himself one, having retired from police work to take care of Sammy while Cathy becomes GPD's new tech guru.
- Insufferable Genius: Comes across this way from time to time. For example, when you bring him a clue for examination in Case 15:Alex: Don't you have more of a challenge? My brilliant mind is wasted on such trifles as shopping bags and credit card numbers!
- The Lab Rat: The Head of the Digital Forensics and Tech Analyst of the Grimsborough Police Department who happens to be a gamer and comic Geek.
- Nice Guy: Catherine King targets him because of this, as she specifically says she just wants to dance with this kind of man at her prom ball.
- Official Couple: He and Cathy are officially together by the final chapter of Grimsborough.
- The Smart Guy: Though his specialty is technology and electronic equipment, Alex is a generally intelligent person.
- Techno Babble: A mild case, since he's a technology expert explaining said technology to people who typically just have basic knowledge of using it.
Chief Samuel King
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Starting with the Maple Heights arc, he decides to come out from behind his desk and get back into the field, if only so he can see firsthand what your player character's investigative skills are like. Of course, he couldn't have gotten where he is in the Grimsborough PD by just sitting behind a desk.
- Benevolent Boss: On a good day. On one occasion, when Ramirez is utterly freaked out at the idea of a ghost haunting the area, King takes Jones's suggestion and sends Ramirez on a brief leave of absence.
- Big Good: He's the chief of the Grimsborough Police Department. Ultimately subverted in Case 51 in which he is found guilty of the murder of Adam Bentley.
- By-the-Book Cop: On one occasion, when Jones bitterly admits that the evidence is pointing in an unfavorable direction, King advises him that you have to follow what the evidence says, notwithstanding.
- Cool Old Guy: He's not above giving a good-natured wink to show he's especially pleased with your performance.
- Da Chief: On a bad day, and usually toward Jones for being "lazy" and for overstepping his bounds as a cop. King's a lot more reasonable to your player character, who he describes as being better able to keep a cool head, though on one occasion, he threatens to assign both of you to work under Ramirez if you don't wrap up the case more quickly.
- Dead Guy Junior: Alex and Cathy's son Sammy is most likely named after his great-grandfather.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Whenever he perceives Jones to not be working hard enough on a case.
- Driven to Suicide: After being discovered to be Adam's killer in Case 51, he shoots himself without explanation. It's revealed that he did it to prevent being arrested, which would have exposed the Crimson Order's existence, who would end up murdering Cathy.
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: He becomes increasingly irritable and unreasonable during the elections period in Maple Heights, and easily flies the hook whenever the Mayor is involved. Finally culminates in him killing Adam Bentley on the Crimson Order's behalf.
- Mission Control: He's usually the one to give you and Jones the directives on new cases and advise you where to go when the two of you get stuck.
- Porn Stache: Has a very prominent mustache that fits the trope description perfectly. It fits with his position of authority.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He'll listen to suggestions that your player character gives (outside the script) concerning how to proceed on a case.
- Silver Fox: He's quite handsome for an older man.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Usually your player character gets the sugar, while Jones gets the ice.
- Team Dad: Looks after the best interests of his team and is well-liked and respected by all of them.
Officer Eduardo Ramirez
- Agent Mulder: Believes in the existence of ghosts, zombies and monsters of legend.
- Berserk Button: Anyone who tries to hurt the player faces the wrath of his frying pan, even a hypnotized Jones and the prison warden Milton Grimmes, the district killer.
- Beware the Nice Ones: He might be polite to a fault, be constantly nervous about handling rough-looking suspects, and overall be a bumbling cop, but get him sufficiently aggravated and...well, just look at his response to a quarrel between barber Joshua Kempe and customer Curtis Newman over lice on the barber's scissors, in a side-quest in Case 10:Kempe: I carefully clean my scissors after every client. If Curtis here has got lice, it's definitely not from me and my scissors...Newman: Don't try that one on me, old man! Lying comes to you as naturally as breathing! Now you better hope your bones are not as weak as your lies!Ramirez: (thoroughly pissed) EVERYBODY CALM DOWN RIGHT ABOUT NOW!
- Big Damn Heroes: He whacked a hypnotized Jones with his frying pan when the latter was about to kill the player character, defeating the Rorschach Reaper in the process.
- When Jones and the player character head off to arrest Milton Grimmes, Ramirez follows them without them knowing it, and then saves the day by bashing Grimmes over the head with his frying pan.
- The Bus Came Back: Returns in Pacific Bay as a private detective.
- Butt-Monkey: Just about everybody takes him as a verbal punching bag or a convenient target for insults.
- Celeb Crush: He has a huge crush on pop star Lola Vallez, and he gets very enthusiastic to accompany the player whenever Lola needs their help.
- Frying Pan of Doom: He has used his frying pan to whack anyone who dares harm the player character.
- Idiot Ball: The most frequent carrier, doing things such as telling the wrong people facts about the case, dropping or damaging evidence and as a private detective, thinking that dressing as a giant fruit is inconspicuous.
- Last-Name Basis: Like Jones, he is often referred to by his last name. In fact, his first name wasn't revealed until Case 13 of Pacific Bay.
- Loser Has Your Back: On the few occasions when Jones is indisposed as your partner.
- Nervous Wreck: He was visibly intimidated by Marconi, to the point that he repeatedly gets Marconi's name wrong.
- Nice Guy: Ramirez is easily the nicest member of the team despite being the Butt-Monkey likely because he knows they really don't mean any harm.
- Out of Focus: Despite still being a main character in Season 5, Ramirez has far less focus than he did in Season 1, only appearing in about a third of the season in comparison to him being present in almost every case of Grimsborough with three exceptions. Justified since he now works as a private detective on his own, only acting as a consultant for the police department instead of a beat cop.
- Police Are Useless: He's the main reason the Grimsborough PD's cops are looked down on by the populace, usually by way of mishandling forms or other important evidence.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Shared with the player character, for the fact that he had to whack Jones on the head with a frying pan to stop him from shooting the player character while under the Rorschach Reaper's mind control. Jones assumes his injury is from falling down some stairs, and neither you nor Ramirez bothers to correct him.
- Selective Obliviousness: In the additional investigation of The Lake's Bride, he goes to Floyd Russel's tour on The Creature of the Lake even though its existence was recently debunked.
- Spanner in the Works: He's a bumbling officer whom no one takes seriously, but has thwarted two villains' plans to take out the player (which might have ended pretty badly for our main character if not for Ramirez).
- The Rorschach Reaper didn't count on Ramirez whacking a hypnotized Jones with a frying pan to rescue the player character.
- He also does the exact same thing to the leader of the Crimson Order, saving the player character and Jones yet again.
- Took a Level in Badass: When the player meets him again in Season 2, he's become a private investigator and quite capable of helping with player on several cases. By the time the player returns to Grimsborough in Season 5, he's become a consultant for the PD and a great person to go to if you need more information dug up on evidence.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: He refuses to believe that not everyone can be truly good at heart.
Recurring Characters in Grimsborough
Judge Olivia Hall
- Black Boss Lady: Well, she's black, she's the judge in charge of Grimsborough's courthouse, and she's a woman.
- Lost in Translation: In the Spanish version, she is referred to as "el juez Hall" even though "el juez" refers to a male judge or any generic judge.
- Make an Example of Them: In Case 28, she sentenced the killer to life imprisonment as an example that revenge only brings more tragedy.
- Perpetual Frowner: Judge Hall is not one to smile. Considering the city where she works, it's hard to blame her.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She can be very hard on unrepentant or defiant criminals. On the other hand, she's willing to show some leniency if convicts were of previous good character and are truly remorseful about their actions, and if the circumstances of the crime that led them to her courtroom can be reasonably explained in their favor.
- Stern Old Judge: Middle-aged, Perpetual Frowner, and can be harsh.
- Think of the Children!: In Case 37, she called the killer out for leaving the victim's body in the middle of a sci-fi festival, where children may have seen him.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: She's replaced by Judge Powell in The Conspiracy, and no mentions of her are made.
An interview with Pretty Simple suggested that she was going to appear at one point.
Tony Marconi
- Arc Villain: Jones sees him as this throughout the Industrial Area arc. He cements it after killing Salvador Cordero, the other contender for the title.
- Continuity Cameo: He appears as a child during Case 9 of Travel In Time.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The Conspiracy reveals that he has a son, Emilio Fuller, whom he let live with his mother as to not lead him towards a life of crime, and wants to protect after learning about his role in Dreamlife. Unfortunately, Emilio doesn't feel the same way, and promptly kills him when he tries to rescue him.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Being leader of the mob? Sure. Running a sleazy nightclub? No problem. Killing people who've crossed him? Run-of-the-mill. Beating a woman, especially if she's an employee of his? NO.Marconi: You don't hit women. You just don't...
- Generation Xerox: As shown in Travel In Time, his mother, Nicoletta, was also a criminal.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Was recruited by Jones to bust the latter's girlfriend out of prison. Since Marconi was a changed man, he refuses and talks some sense to him.
- Foil: He might be this to Alden Greene, Marconi is a mob boss who's well respected in his district, the latter is a rich Hate Sink who's the CEO of both a Casino and pharmaceutical company. Jones suspects Tony of shady things during the Industrial Area arc, while Alden's evil schemes aren't found out until the financial center's finale. Also, Tony wouldn't tolerate somebody hitting or having their evil way with a lady, Alden kills two women, and to top it off, Marconi's Heel–Face Turn is genuine and it costed him his life by the hands of his own kid, Alden gets a karmaic headshot by Frank for murdering his wife.
- Handicapped Badass: He's asthmatic. Doesn't hamper his mob activity.
- I Have Your Wife: His estranged son is the sole reason why Marconi got his security firm involved with DreamLife.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: He's not a very nice man, but at least he cares a lot for his cat, as revealed in Case 8.
- Jock Dad, Nerd Son: He is the father of Emilio Fuller, a geeky Dreamlife scientist.
- The Man Behind the Man: He's suspected of having hired the killer in Case 2 to murder that case's victim; however, there's no proof forthcoming to support that theory.
- The Mob Boss Is Scarier: What Ash Bison of the Vipers says about Marconi in Case 11.Ash Bison: I know Marconi will always be the true boss of this district. Those who forget that, die.
- Papa Wolf: When he is murdered, Marconi is revealed have a son, Emilio Fuller. After the team learns about this, they also find out that Marconi would do anything to protect his son, including taking up Rozetta's blackmail. Unfortunately, this protectiveness proves to be Marconi's undoing as it allows the resentful Emilio to kill him.
- Redemption Equals Death: Marconi's Heel–Face Turn in The Conspiracy was genuine; however, by the time the Grimsborough PD realizes this, he is murdered.
- Reformed Criminal: When the Player returns to Grimsborough, Case 12 reveals he got out on good behavior and has been acting clean ever since. Jones, of course, suspects there's something shady behind all of it.
- The Syndicate: He runs one, using his mafia affiliates and connections to control his district, commit crimes and remove those who stand in his way. It's powerful enough that he's able to skip out on jail at least twice.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Despite being a mob boss, he's pretty well respected in his district, and he treats his workers quite civilly. This only serves to irritate Jones because he can't arrest the guy.
Alden Greene
- Arch-Enemy: The closest the PC has to one. Especially since he shows up in Pacific Bay as well.
- Arc Villain: Like Marconi, Jones does not trust him at all, and Jones is very eager to pin him for the murders he gets involved in throughout the Financial District.
- Asshole Victim: He is shot in the head by Frank Knight when he returned in Pacific Bay and it is honestly hard to say he didn't deserve his fate.
- Bald of Evil: His sprite lacks even a hint of hair on the head and given his disdain for the law and other activities, evil fits. It goes perfectly with his Beard of Evil.
- Beard of Evil: A thick white goatee to complement his bald head.
- The Bus Came Back: Alden shows back up in the penultimate case of Pacific Bay and is promptly killed by Frank for murdering Karen.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: His Greene Banking offered loans to stall owners in Eastfield Market, which most of them took. When they refused his buyout, he raised their interests so they won't have any choice but to sell their stalls.
- Foil: Seems to be this to Tony Marconi, Alden's a rich sociopathic CEO of several companies with his name on them, Tony's a mobster who treats his employees with respect, also, Tony would murder you for hurting a girl, Greene has no qualms in doing so, as he did it twice in two separate seasons.
- Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: He is perpetually chewing on a cigar, and he's not a very nice man.
- Hate Sink: Not only is Alden a smug and greedy Corrupt Corporate Executive, he brutally murders Rachel Priest when she attempts to expose his support for an unethical supersoldier program, is part of the Crimson Order, manages to escape from jail thrice, and kills Karen Knight to be a part of Albert Tesla's new world order. Alden is the game's first villain without any redeeming qualities.
- Jerkass: Hand-in-hand with the two tropes immediately below. Even without them, he's very easy to dislike, ultimately turning into an Asshole Victim by murdering Frank's wife in Pacific Bay.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Most of his wealth and power comes from his connections with The Crimson Order and their illicit gold mining.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Tried to bail his grandson out of prison after the latter committed murder, and he is implied to have done it for himself after being convicted for Rachel Priest's murder.
- Smug Snake: Is always confident that his influence and wealth will be able to buy him or anyone associated with him out of any kind of trouble. He notably loses this trait when you finally arrest him for good but gains it back later when he escapes prison.
- Would Hit a Girl: Both of his victims happen to be Rachel Priest and Karen Knight, the latter he gets a karmic headshot for by Frank.
Rachel Priest
- Body Horror: She was injected with a serum that turns men into killing machines, but because it was only designed for men, her skin tore apart when her bones grew into an immense size.
- The Cameo: She appears on TV in some crime scenes, including those from before she was introduced.
- Crazy-Prepared: Knowing that her investigations on Alden Greene will lead to her death, she recorded a video to the player character telling them her investigations on the monster serum experiment Alden funded.
- Defiant to the End: When Alden Greene was preparing to kill her, all she did was tell him the world will see him as a monster.
- Going for the Big Scoop: Knowing that Alden Greene is up to something, she did everything she can to dig up anything major about him, even if it meant downplaying other matters, such as the deaths of her informant and her personal intern.
- He Knows Too Much: Alden killed her because her investigations on him led to her discovery of the monster serum experiments he funded. Had she gone further, she would've discovered the Crimson Order as well.
- Intrepid Reporter: She was always searching for any story on Alden Greene she could publicize, sometimes leading her to cross paths with the police department.
- Kick the Dog: She never paid her cameraman even though he often recorded her findings, prompting him to betray her by selling her research notes to Alden Greene for money.
- Lack of Empathy: Downplayed. She shows no concern for her coworkers, often putting her investigations on Alden Greene above their welfare. For example, when told about her personal intern's death, she was more concerned about the article the intern was working on rather than the death itself.
- Love Interest: Jones had feelings for her that weren't evident until the case she died in.
Margaret Littlewood
A rather nosy old woman living in the Historical Center encountered throughout the Historical Center arc.
- The Bus Came Back: Fittingly enough in a case in Old Town in "The Conspiracy", more specifically during a case where one of her fellow residents of Shady Hallow got shot.
- Canine Companion: Usually seen with her Shih Tzu, Astrid. After her sentencing, she gives Astrid to Jones.
- Evil Old Folks: Revealed as the killer of Molly Robinson, her dog, and both James Savage's and Gertrude Piccadilly's dogs in Case 31.
- Removing the Rival: In Case 31, Margaret poisoned almost all of the dogs in the dog pageant so her dog, Astrid, could win, giving her grandchildren a reason to visit her.
- Scatterbrained Senior: During her appearance in The Conspiracy, she doesn't recognize the player at all and believes the victim was a dog. When the player finds out she'd dated the victim, she goes on a monologue about how the victim supposedly stood her up in a ball in when she was 19. Justified, because she's mentioned to have been diagnosed with dementia.
- Supreme Chef: Jones quickly bonds with her after she offers them cookies in her first appearance. She uses this to her advantage in Case 31 by poisoning the victim, several dogs, and Jones with carrot cupcakes.
Tess Goodwin/The Rorschach Reaper
- Alas, Poor Villain: She may be no saint, but her murder in Case 55 receives this reaction when it's revealed that she was killed for trying to take down the Crimson Order for framing her ancestor and executing her. Even Judge Hall said that her killer had no right to justify her murder.
- Back for the Dead: She was killed in Case 55, having escaped from prison at the end of the previous case.
- Burn the Witch!: Like her ancestor, she was tied to a burning stake, though the smoke killed her instead of the flames. Ironically, her killer was a witch.
- Cosplay: Participates in this in Case 37.
- The Corrupter: Her MO as the Rorschach Reaper involves hypnotizing people who saw a certain result in inkblot tests, delivering speeches to them that concern their grudge against certain people, and encouraging them to "do the right thing". She claimed that those killers had weak minds, and all she did was "give them a little push". She attempted to do this on Jones against the player character, only to be thwarted by Ramirez, who whacked Jones.
- Disownment: She was on the receiving end of this by her sister because of the serial murders she was responsible for.
- Even Evil Has Standards: On one hand, she was a heartless serial killer with no remorse for her misdeeds. On the other hand, she wanted to take down the Crimson Order for murdering her ancestor.
- Fangirl: She claims to be a big fan of the player character and B-list actor Bruce Anderson.
- Foil: To Cathy King. Both girls are geniuses in their respective fields of study who assume secret identities to work outside the law. Tess manipulated and killed others for her thesis, even attempting to kill the player character without any regards to the consequences. Cathy, on the other hand, used her cunning and technological expertise to assist the PD in investigating murders and detecting a flaw in Zack Holden's security system. This is also reflected in their respective ancestors. Tess's ancestor Mary Goodwin was a witch killed by the Crimson Order for trying to expose its secrets. Cathy's ancestor William Kingsley was a high-ranking official who allowed the Crimson Order to operate with impunity by covering their activities.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Sports a pair of glasses and expresses no remorse for the murders she was responsible for. Even when she wasn't planning murders, her aggressive way of winning a role-playing game against Alex shows her ruthless personality.
- Humans Are Bastards: She believes in this, as she was writing her thesis on latent murderers.Tess: A murderer sleeps in everyone of us, your Honor! That's what my thesis is all about.
- The Man Behind the Man: She masterminded the murders in Cases 32, 35, and 38 by hypnotizing the respective killers into killing people they hold a grudge against.
- Never My Fault: She denied responsibility for the murders she orchestrated, claiming that the girls she hypnotized have always wanted to kill in the first place.
- The Profiler: As a student of criminal psychology, she tries to play this role in Case 32.Tess: I don't know your killer's identity but I do know their psychological profile! From what I've heard about the way Rani died, I can tell you your killer is passive-agressive with a deep inferiority complex.
- Sacrificial Lion: Her murder at the hands of Crimson Order member Luna Hecate shows the amount of zeal the Order has in guarding its secrets.
- Villainous Breakdown: She lost her cool when Ramirez saved the player character's life by hitting a hypnotized Jones with a frying pan.Tess: WHAT DID YOU DO?! You ruined everything! (player character's rank and name)'s death was going to be my masterpiece! YOU DESTROYED MY WORK!
- You Do Not Want To Know: This was the answer she gave when Judge Hall asked what she saw on the inkblot tests she gave to the girls she hypnotized.
Catherine "Cathy" King (now Cathy Turner)
- Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: In chapter 5, she's the brains to Rita's brawn and Martine's beauty.
- Digital Avatar: Not exactly a digital avatar, since she communicates directly with the team using a video chat, but Cathy uses a black hood and a mask to represent her @rtist persona.
- Expressive Mask: The @rtist's mask. While usually bearing an impassive expression, the mask is also capable of smirking◊ or looking nervous◊.
- Happily Married: With Alex as of Season 5.
- In the Hood: The @rtist wears a black jacket with a hood, both in person and as a virtual avatar.
- Invisible Parents: It is implied that Cathy was raised by her grandparents, but even though her late grandmother is mentioned as a semi-important plot point (her death is related to Chief King's ties with the Crimson Order), nothing is ever said of her parents.
- Official Couple: She and Alex are officially together by the final chapter of Grimsborough.
- Playful Hacker: Her hacking isn't malicious, and she's a normal university student outside her hacker persona.
Mayor Howard Johnson
- Ambiguously Evil: Mayor Johnson is genuinely friendly to the player, and regularly praises his/her work as well as the other members of Grimsborough PD. It can be said that maybe, just maybe, a lot of the immoral things he's done might have been due to his mother's influence.
- Cool Old Guy: Yes, his picture here has him winking at you. In context, the wink is when he thinks you're doing a good job.
- Fictional Political Party: called the Red Party.
- Momma's Boy: His mother, Serena Johnson, apparently does most of his work behind the scenes. Judge Hall mentions that the mayor could barely make his own decisions without her.
- Permanent Elected Official: One wonders how he's managed to hold on to his job with the number of murders taking place during his tenure...
- Sleazy Politician: Has shades of this in Case 21, where he allows General James Marsh to sway him into telling you and Jones to back off from considering Marsh as a suspect in the case's murder, on the grounds that Marsh is a very influential man and it wouldn't be wise to have him as an enemy. Then he pulls it on you again in Cases 31 and 41 where he's primarily worried about the impact that (respectively) cancelling the Dog Pageant due to a murder, and the Rorschach Reaper's serial killings, will have on his chances of being re-elected. His status as a sleazeball is cemented in Chapter 56, where he is revealed to be a member of the Crimson Order.
Serena Johnson
- Evil Matriarch: She is a ruthless woman who employs underhanded means to keep her family in power, such as choosing seedy businesses as sponsors for her son's re-election campaign, digging up dirt on her rivals for smear campaigns against them, and killing anyone who dares challenge the Crimson Order. Oh, and she spoiled her son Howard to the point that he can't make his own decisions.
- Evil Old Folks: She's 85 years old.
- The Man Behind the Man: She pretty much runs things from behind the scenes while her son plays mayor. She also ordered Chief King to kill Adam Bentley.
- Miniature Senior Citizen: Old age seems to have reduced her height. Compare her younger self, where she appeared to be shorter than Samuel King by an inch or two, to her present self, where she's a foot shorter than him.
- Never Mess with Granny: She knows how to handle a gun.
- Never My Fault: When the shrimp dish she cooked for a rally gave her son a stomachache, she blamed the fishermen who gave her the shrimp for the dish. When told that her homemade sauce was to blame instead of the shrimp, she blamed whoever gave her rotten vegetables for the sauce, only for Chief King to tell her it's not the police's job to handle petty matters. She then tried to deflect blame from herself by emphasizing her family's contributions to Grimsborough.
- Power Hair: A powerful woman who sports a short hairdo to illustrate this.
Martha Price
A mayor hopeful who regularly appears during the Maple Heights arc as Mayor Johnson's rival. She returns as the mayor in The Conspiracy, at least for a few cases.
- Accidental Murder: To an extent. In Case 49, it is revealed that Joe Warren pressured Martha into checking on the Demon Fish tanks alone to boost her PR ratings.
- Clashing Cousins: Her cousin Ernest disagrees with her trying to euthanize the Demon Fish, as he wished to examine them For Science!. As a result, he ends up feeding her to them.
- Killed Off for Real Found eaten alive by Demon Fish in the final case of Maple Heights in The Conspiracy.
- Fictional Political Party: called the Blue Party.
- Mayor Pain: While she's not actually the mayor, her stubbornness and quick-tempered attitude makes her fit this. She often keeps information hidden from the police and is keen on badmouthing victims. She mellows out in The Conspiracy, however.
- Moral Guardians: Attempted to keep a suspect away from having a carnal relationship with the victim in her first appearance, and regards her daughter as being chaste even when the team finds evidence she had applied for an abortion. She also attempted to prevent the sales of Patricia P. Harris' books, causing them to fall out.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Martha is likely based on Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Adam Bentley
- Anti-Villain: Merely just a wannabe socialite who is rejected for being nowhere near as rich as Maple Heights wants to be. And he ends up being killed when he tries to dig the dirt on them.
- Blackmail Backfire: Case 56 reveals that Adam had stumbled across the Crimson Order's illegal goldmine and blackmailed them for money to keep quiet. Instead, they order Chief King to assassinate him.
- Boom, Headshot!: In relation to the above, he gets it right between the eyes.
- Foster Kid: Discovered in Case 50. In fact, his foster brother, the victim of the case, is the only person who cared for him.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: During his first appearance, Alex explicitly states his background is completely unknown, with the only hint being that he grew up as an orphan. Chief King becomes worried as he pops up as a suspect in several murders, alongside how close he is to the mayor.
- He Knows Too Much: Chief King's assassination of him was to silence Adam from exposing the Crimson Order's existence and to prove King's loyalty to the Order.
- Mock Millionaire: Implied. He's not exactly penniless, but nowhere near as rich as the society of Maple Heights requires him to be, and is revealed to owe money to various locals because he can't afford the lifestyle.
- Mysterious Past: Aside from being a Foster Kid, nothing is ever revealed about Adam's past, which is why Chief King is quite suspicious about him.
- Pretty Little Headshots: How he goes out. Justified since the killer was a sharp-shooter and Adam was relatively relaxed when assassinated.
- Nouveau Riche: Which is why he's rejected by the otherwise Old Money Maple Heights. He's essentially Grimsborough's answer to Jay Gatsby.
Milton Grimmes
A prison warden and descendant of Solomon Grimmes. He's also the leader of the Crimson Order, making him the Big Bad of the first season.
- A God Am I: During his arrest, he proclaims that being the ancestor of one of the city's founders and the leader of his organization makes him the untouchable architect of the city.
- Big Bad: Of the first season.
- Faux Affably Evil: Initially presents himself as a polite, if secretive, gentleman. He drops that façade as soon as he's arrested.
- Frying Pan of Doom: He's on the receiving end of this by Ramirez who saves Jones and the Player by whacking him with one.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Downplayed. He drank the blood of Delsin Peota with a chalice, but didn't engage in eating him.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: His ancestor, Solomon, slaughtered the majority of the native Aloki tribe to gain access to their gold mine, after tricking them by seducing one of their women. Milton has no qualms about his ancestor's actions, even stating that no one would care for the "stupid" Aloki they stole Grimsborough from. When one modern Aloki discovers the burial site, he rips off his scalp as a warning to the team.
- Walking Spoiler: He only appears in the last two cases of the season, where it's revealed he's the Big Bad. Then there's the fact he's related to Solomon Grimmes, a prominent figure in the arc.
- Wardens Are Evil: An interesting example in the sense that his job is to protect anyone from knowing his leadership of the Crimson Order. Despite that, it is implied that he had poisoned the killer of Chief King's wife after he had her killed to ensure King's loyalty to him.
