Characters who appear in Murdered: Soul Suspect and their associated tropes.
Note: Beware of unmarked spoiler tropes. In particular, there are very few characters that can't be characterized as a Walking Spoiler.
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Ronan O'Connor
Voiced by Jason Brooks (English)
Ronan used to be a criminal and his body is covered in tattoos that serve as mementos of his old crimes. But he eventually changed his ways and fell in love with Julia, with his future brother-in-law suggesting that he come over to the lawful side and join the police force, which Ronan agreed to.
He was a police detective, and on the team that was trying to track down and apprehend the Bell Killer. When he heard the Bell Killer was sighted nearby, he rushed over to the scene and tried to arrest him on his own, but was killed instead. Ronan remained behind as a ghost because of unfinished business, and he's determined to figure out the identity of the Bell Killer.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Implied to occur at the end of the game, having finished his business and able to join Julia.
- Badass and Child Duo: Has this dynamic with Joy, though she's already a teenager.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Abigail possessed and used him to kill Sophia.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Trying to fight the Bell Killer, Ronan had his primary weapon knocked out of his hands easily, and was thrown around before getting tossed out the window.
- Dead to Begin With: His death occurs at the start of the game.
- Death Seeker: Implied through a comment of his brother-in-law, talking about Ronan's rash attitude.Rex: If I didn't know any better, I would say you actually want to die.
- Destination Defenestration: The game opens with him being thrown out of a fourth-story window.
- Friend to All Children: Has a soft spot for young children, which is best shown with his interactions and gentle talking to Sophia's ghost. Takes it very hard when he learns he was used to kill her.
- Ghost Amnesia: Doesn't recall why he was at the house, why he was fighting the Bell Killer to begin with, and very little else about the case. He discovers most of his memories and reasons through investigating the crime scenes and locations.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a few thin scars on his face, back from his days as a street thug. There are also the seven orange bullet holes on his torso, which were given to him by the Bell Killer.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: The Bell Killer shot him with his own gun.
- I Call It "Vera": His primary gun is called Lillian, after his mother. Julia found this unnerving.
- It's All My Fault
- Blames himself for not being there when Julia was injured and died.
- Also blames himself for Iris' death, thinking that she would still be alive, had he and Joy not broken her out of the mental asylum.
- Love Redeems: Chose to give up his criminal life when he fell in love with Julia.
- The Mourning After: Remains loyal to his wife, even after her death.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Upon finding out that he was also a Bell Killer, used by Abigail, and killed Sophia. He quickly points out that it wasn't his own doing, but he was made to do it.
- Not So Invincible After All: His monologue in the beginning has him lampshade that winning so many fights in his past made it easy to forget that one isn't invincible. Confronting the Bell Killer showed him that he can still be beaten and killed.
- Not the Fall That Kills You…: Survived being thrown out of the fourth-story window, although it's clear that it still caused enough damage for his spirit to leave his body. Getting shot seven times by the Bell Killer was what actually caused Ronan's death.
- Occult Detective: A ghost that used to be a police detective.
- Perma-Stubble: Always has an unshaven look.
- Poltergeist: Can make electronic devices malfunction for a bit, which comes in handy when needing to disable security cameras, by-pass electronic locks, and distract or get the attention of nearby humans.
- Punched Across the Room: The Bell Killer punched him so hard, Ronan crashed into the opposite wall.
- Reformed, but Rejected: Baxter still sees Ronan as a criminal, despite becoming a cop.
- Reformed Criminal: Used to be a street thug, but gave up that lifestyle and eventually joined the police force.
- Shirtless Scene: While his life flashes before his eyes, it shows his tattoos being added to his body, implying that he was shirtless for that scene.
- Smoking Is Cool: Still smokes in death, though he comments he 'sorta' quit at that point. The cigarette seems to be part of his ghost appearance, as he isn't shown lighting any new ones, and it's mostly an oral fixation.
- Storyboard Body: His torso and arms are covered in tattoos that all have a special meaning to him. Several of them used to be mementos of crimes he had committed, but when he reformed and fell for Julia, he added tattoos that showed his love and dedication towards their relationship, including a 'Forever' tattoo on the back of his hand when they got married.
- Taking You with Me: Says this word for word to Abigail and grabs her, dragging her down into the hell portal she spawned. While she was pulled down, Ronan managed to pull himself to safety.
- A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: His death came about because he blew off calling for back-up and decided to try and apprehend the Bell Killer on his own.
- Technopath: Can cause electronic devices to act up with mere thought.
- Who Dunnit To Me: His primary motivation in the game is to solve why the Bell Killer murdered them, and figuring out his identity.
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Joy makes a comment about his parents hoping he'll become a gladiator with a name like that, though she did it only because he found her name to be equally unfitting.
Joy Foster
Voiced by Cassidy Lehrman (English)
Joy was actually the tenant in the apartment where Ronan confronted the Bell Killer, and she ran off to the church during the confusion. It turns out that she's a medium, capable of seeing and communicating with ghosts, and Ronan thinks she could help him get his unfinished business fixed. But she refuses.
Joy is trying to find her mother Cassandra, who left her a note and disappeared a few days ago, and worries that she might already be dead. When Ronan points out that she'll need his help to find her mother, she reluctantly agrees to form a partnership with him. Ronan tries to keep her safe when he realizes that the Bell Killer is specifically targetting her.
- Chekhov's Gun: Her loud scream causing Ronan to stagger turns out to be very useful during the final confrontation. She screams at the possessed Rex to force Abigail out of his body, to keep herself from being hanged.
- Damsel in Distress: The climax has her being tied up and in danger of being hanged.
- Deadpan Snarker: Her general interaction with Ronan contains lots of snarking.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- After Ronan tells her that her mother's book is in the police station, she tries to break in to get it despite not even knowing which officer was her mother's contact there. Unsurprisingly, she's caught and put in an interrogation room, only escaping with Ronan's help.
- Near the climax, she tries sneaking into the church when there has just been a murder there, getting caught again and put into a police cruiser to be driven back to the station by Rex. However, Abigail possesses Rex and instead drives her to the museum to hang her there.
- Girlish Pigtails: Has her hair tied into two short pigtails.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Doesn't like her abilities as a medium and would prefer ghosts to leave her alone. She tries her best to not be noticed talking to Ronan at the cemetery because of the other ghosts around, but when they realize that she's a medium, they all swarm her and start to ask for help on their various unfinished business — then demons begin to roam nearby, chasing them off.
- I See Dead People: Can see and talk to ghosts as a medium.
- Make Me Wanna Shout: Yelling loudly actually causes ghosts like Ronan to stagger from the sound.
- Missing Mom: Her reason for roaming the city is to find her mom. The two meet up in the epilogue.
- Mouthy Kid: Bluntly talks to Ronan and about the annoyance ghosts cause her.
- Psychic Powers: Her medium powers include seeing and talking to ghosts, as well as her loud screams actually being harmful to them.
- Sour Supporter: Remains mostly dismissive towards Ronan and mostly helps him out of reluctance, but she does genuinely apologize when she finds out his wife was killed.
- Spy Speak: Her mother's book on investigations is full of codes and symbols, which Joy can understand.
- Street Urchin: Mostly lives on her own in an apartment, when she isn't staying at the church because of the charity of the kind priest, because her mom's job has often put both of them in danger. Joy also has a criminal history of trespassing, theft, as well as breaking and entering.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Her working together with Ronan mostly falls into this. She only agrees to help him with his business because he can help her find clues on where her mother might be, but is quick to leave and try things on her own again.
Bell Killer
The Bell Killer is a serial murderer that has been plaguing the streets of Salem. It was originally believed to just be a string of random killings, as there was no clear pattern to his murders, until they realized that a bell was found drawn on the corpse — hence the title.
The Bell Killer was searching for Joy in her apartment, but was interrupted by Ronan. The killer threw Ronan out the window and, when he realized that the detective was still alive, shot him several times to get rid of him.
- Burn the Witch!: Burned Rose Campbell at the stake.
- Calling Card: Dubbed the Bell Killer because his victims were marked with a drawing of a bell.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Dominates Ronan during their initial confrontation.
- Demonic Possession: The Bell Killer is merely a human possessed by Abigail.
- Evil Wears Black: Always wears a black jacket and mask.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Rose and Iris describe the Bell Killer as having blue eyes that are cold like death.
- In the Hood: His jacket has a hood that he wears up, further hiding any identifying marker.
- Legacy Character: The Judgement House gives proof that the 'Bell Killer' has been appearing for the last 300 years. Every so often, somebody would commit a string of murders and drawings of a bell.
- Malevolent Masked Men: Wears a black mask to hide most of his face, leaving his eyes exposed.
- Serial Killer: Paints a bell on his victims, which not only gave him his title, but also let the authorities realize that they were all killed by the same person, when the causes of death were so diverse that no connection was first seen as possible. The game reveals that his targets are all spirit mediums.
- Super-Strength: Effortlessly punched Ronan across a room with enough force to crack a wall, can deform metal baseball bats with his bare hands, and easily push over heavy marble statues.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: When Ronan survives being thrown out of a fourth-story window, the Bell Killer shoots him seven times in the chest to make sure he dies.
- The Unfettered: Breaks into a church and kills anyone in his way to get to Iris, though she wasn't his original target at the time. He decided to kill her then, since they happened to cross paths.
- The Voiceless: The Bell Killer is never heard speaking by the player, though some characters mention he brought up the subject of 'contracts' before murdering his victims. Likely done to avoid spoiling the revelation that the Bell Killer is actually multiple people.
- Witch Hunt: Kills several of his victims in manners that are reminiscent of the Salem witch trial executions — drowning while tied to a chair, burned alive at the stake, death by hanging, etc. Done intentionally by Abigail, as she intends to find and kill every witch that ever steps into Salem.
Javier 'Rex' Reyes
Voiced by Travis Willingham (English)
Rex is Ronan's brother-in-law and the one to suggest he join the police force, so that his sister wouldn't be marrying 'some bum'. He kept Ronan's bad past under wraps, to make sure that he would actually be accepted into the force, and was overall a decent boss and coworker.
He's the lead detective and police lieutenant for the Bell Killer case, and was the one to demote and remove Baxter from it. When Ronan was killed by the Bell Killer, the officials planned to remove Rex as the lead for the case because of personal interest. After the Bell Killer strikes at the church, Rex has Joy put into his car and he drives off, taking her into custody.
- Berserk Button: Appalled at how Baxter talks about the dead Ronan.
- Big Brother Instinct: Never mentioned if he's the younger or older brother of Julia, but Julia and Ronan both remark that he was incredibly protective of her. Not only because he was a cop, but also because of her mental disorder.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Abigail possessed him to murder Ronan, Iris, and attempted to kill Joy.
- By-the-Book Cop: Most of his appearance makes it clear that he was a fair and reasonable police lieutenant, although he did pull strings to keep his brother-in-law's rap sheet a secret.
- Criminal Amnesiac: Turns out to have been one of the Bell Killer puppets, but as it meant Abigail was possessing him, Rex doesn't remember anything.
- Due to the Dead: Rex places Ronan's hat onto the latter's chest.
- Easily Forgiven: Ronan remarks in the epilogue that Joy forgives Rex. Since Joy is fully aware that Rex was controlled by Abigail, she has no reason to feel resentment towards him for trying to kill her. Ronan also forgives Rex for the same reason.
- Easy Amnesia: Justified because his amnesia is caused by a ghost possessing his body.
- I Wished You Were Dead: Remarks early on that he lost count how often he wished Ronan dead.
- It's All My Fault: Blames himself for Ronan's death because he convinced him to join the force.
- It's Personal: Finding and arresting the Bell Killer becomes personal when Ronan gets killed by him.
- Karma Houdini: Never gets any comeuppance for murdering Ronan, Iris, and trying to hang Joy. But since he was controlled by Abigail and had no memory of actually committing those murders, Rex is much more sympathetic.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Appears this way for Joy, since he doesn't believe her psychic powers.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Mostly goes by Rex, though his actual first name is Javier.
- Red Herring: The game has hints towards Rex being the Bell Killer. Zig-zagged because Rex is one of the Bell Killers currently roaming Salem. But it was a case of being possessed by Abigail, meaning he is merely a puppet that doesn't remember having committed any crimes.
- Talking to the Dead: Talks to Ronan's corpse and wonders if he's been reunited with Julia, asking him to tell her that her brother misses her. Later on drops by Julia's grave with flowers and tells her about Ronan's death. Both times have Ronan respond to him, but Rex cannot hear him.
Baxter
A police officer who shared a mutual animosity with Ronan and is not sad to see him go.
- Alliterative Name: On his office door is "B. Baxter"
- Bald of Evil: Sports a chrome dome when not wearing his police hat, and a real ass from his introduction. Subverted in the sense that he is not evil, but controlled by Abigail. That doesn't explain the jackassery, though.
- Eye Scream: When Ronan meets Baxter's ghost, his eye is bloodied out.
- Jerkass: To the extent that, when Joy tells Ronan that her mother referred to her contact as "bastard," Ronan instantly deduces that it was Baxter. He was especially a Jerkass to Ronan, whom he refused to see as anything but another crook even after Ronan became a cop, to the extent that some of their fellow cops actually speculate that Baxter may have been the one who killed him.
- Jerkass Has a Point: His animosity with Ronan is somewhat justified in that without Rex suppressing Ronan's rap sheet, the latter wouldn't have become a cop in the first place.
- Last-Name Basis: His first name isn't revealed, but his last name is Baxter.
- Pet the Dog: Ensures the safety of Cassandra Foster by putting her in a safehouse.
- Red Herring: Zigzagged. The game initially sets the player up to think that he's the Bell Killer. He both is and isn't at the same time, being just one of the various meat puppets used by Abigail.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: He continued to work on the Bell Killer case even after being demoted and taken off it.
- Speak Ill of the Dead: He has absolutely zero qualms against referring to the recently deceased Ronan as a "dumb son of a bitch" and "more criminal than cop," the former to the face of Ronan's corpse. He even plays around with Ronan's hat. Ronan considers it destroying evidence: Rex just punches him in the face.
Abigail Williams
Voiced by Laura Harrison (English)
Abigail is a ghost and her clothes give away that she's been around since the Puritan-era of Salem. Ronan meets her when he's new to the whole being-a-ghost thing and she offers to answer some questions, helping him get accustomed to his new state of being.
She turns out to have lived at the time of the Salem witch hunt and trials, seeing many women and men getting accused of witchcraft and executed for it. Eventually, Abigail herself was accused of being a witch and was hanged.
- Apocalyptic Log: Ghost Girl's Messages.
- Asshole Victim: Turns out to have been one in life. She accused several people of witchcraft and arranged for their executions, convinced that they were genuine witches. When her father realized what she was doing, and believed that all of her accusations were false, he had her executed.
- Bad Powers, Bad People: Can spawn portals to Hell that grab and drag spirits down.
- Berserk Button: Abigail despises it when anyone claims that she uses witchcraft.
- Broken Pedestal: Several of her messages found involve her commenting and questioning the aspects of Salem, wondering if the things occuring are really as 'just' as they claim to be.
- Creepy Child: Was at a rather young age when killed, but she feels pretty content to be hanging around Salem ever since. She's even nonchalant about Hell portals popping up and casually warns Ronan about dangers his hanging around puts him in. Abigail also murders any spirit medium she can get her hands on, believing their abilities to come from contracts with demons and witchcraft.
- Dragged Off to Hell: Dragged into a Hell portal, ridding Salem of her once and for all.
- Enfant Terrible: Gleefully accused people of witchcraft and had them executed, and kept possessing people to continue to kill those that she deemed witches.
- Evil All Along: Abigail appears to be set up as a bit of an advisor to Ronan, explaining to him a few things about his new abilities as a ghost, but then disappears for majority of the story. The end of the game shows that Abigail was a horrible person in life and that she is the true identity of the constantly resurfacing 'Bell Killer'.
- Girlish Pigtails: Ties her hair into two braids.
- Historical Domain Character: History lists Abigail Williams
as one of two girls to have accused people of being witches in the 17th century. In the game, Abigail was present during the Salem witch trials, and became one of those executed under the belief that she was a witch. - Hoist by His Own Petard: Opened a Hell portal under Ronan, who decided to not go quietly on his own and dragged her in as well. Ronan managed to pull himself out, while Abigail was dragged down.
- Hunter of His Own Kind: Hunts and kills spirit mediums with powers similar to hers.
- Hypocrite: Abigail wanted to purge Salem of any witch that dares to set foot in the place, despite it being made clear that she had her own set of abilities that heavily implied she was that what people called a witch herself. Though she despises it when her abilities are labeled as 'witchcraft'. She also believed that spirit mediums are witches that made a contract with demons, yet can summon Hell portals herself.
- In-Series Nickname: Ghost Girl before her name is revealed.
- The Man Behind the Man: Previous Bell Killers were mere puppets she possessed and used to commit her murders. She is the true 'Bell Killer' and has been doing it for hundreds of years.
- Offing the Offspring: Her father had her eventually hanged for witchcraft.
- People Puppets: One of her ghost abilities includes possessing humans, just like Ronan.
- Powers via Possession: She seems to imbue super strength into any human that she possesses, as demonstrated by the feats of strength the various Bell Killers pull off.
- Psychic-Assisted Suicide: Her favorite way of removing Bell Killer puppets.
- Slasher Smile: Throws a nasty one at Ronan before taunting him with the memory of him having been one of her Bell Killer puppets, too.
- Undead Child: The ghost of a 12-year-old girl.
- You Are What You Hate: She hates witches and accuses anyone with strange abilities of performing witchcraft, despite having such strange abilities herself. But she goes berserk when someone points out that she is performing witchcraft.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Whenever she no longer needed her latest puppet for performing Bell Killer murders or they had gotten too close to the truth, Abigail killed said puppet. She used Rex to kill Ronan, and forced Baxter to shoot himself.
Julia O'Connor
Voiced by Kim Swennen (English)
Julia was married to Ronan for a while and the sister of Rex, but died three years ago. When Ronan died, the two temporarily met and she told him that he couldn't join her because he still had unfinished business. She tells him to take care of things, so they can be together again.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Admitted that Ronan's bad boy image drew her to him.
- Ambiguous Disorder: Rex mentions her having had a mental condition, but nothing specific is ever mentioned. He also says that Ronan helped her cope with it.
- Apocalyptic Log: Julia's Thoughts.
- Happily Married: To Ronan. Although some of her thoughts found late in the game imply that things might not have been so good. She talks about how Ronan feels like a different person, and that the two of them cannot properly talk to each other. It's unclear if these are thoughts from much earlier in their relationship or perhaps an instance of her disorder causing trouble between them.
- How Dare You Die on Me!: The memory of Ronan cradling her body in the street has him tell her that to not do this.
- The Lost Lenore: Her death had a heavy impact on Ronan, likely spurring his Death Seeker behavior.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: She saw two men fighting in the street and went between them, trying to break things up. In response to her interference, one of the men pulled a knife and fatally stabbed her.
- Please Wake Up: Ronan says this as well while cradling her body.
- Posthumous Character: Has been dead for three years.
- Together in Death: When Ronan joins her at the end of the game.
Iris Campbell
Voiced by Hannah Telle (English)
A Bell Killer survivor, who escaped thanks to her sister.- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: She and her sister really have no other reason to remain after both are killed.
- G-Rated Mental Illness: Iris babbles incoherently and draws frequently, but isn't violent.
- Hope Spot: The priest's Heroic Sacrifice to save her. The Bell Killer...wasn't so easily stalled.
- Sanity Slippage: Subverted; she initially appears to have gone insane, but she's actually possessed by the ghost of her dead sister.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: The Bell Killer drops a large statue on her. When that doesn't kill her instantly, he takes a large chunk of debris and crushes her with it.
- Witch Hunt: The victim of one, who escaped because of her sister. The killer comes back and gets her later.
Rose Campbell
Iris's sister, who helped her escape from the Bell Killer at the cost of her own life.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: After Iris is killed.
- Body Horror: Her ghost is still on fire and has badly charred flesh.
- Two-Faced: Most of the right half of her face is badly burned, while her left half is intact.
- Burn the Witch!: She was burned at the stake.
- Heroic Sacrifice: She broke Iris free from her bonds and distracted the Bell Killer long enough for Iris to escape; sadly, Rose herself wasn't so lucky.
- Man on Fire: Her ghost is still on fire.
- Spirit Advisor: She is Iris's.
