Recap / Criminal Case: Grimsborough - Case 30: The Wollcrafts' Creature

What a beautiful dog. Surely nothing wrong has happened to it, right?

After a district-wide blackout that leads Jones and the player to a house from where the overload originated from, they discover the charred body of activist Claire Godwin strapped to a bed connected to an electrical machine.

Tropes:

• 30-Second Blackout: The blackout that leaves the entire Historical Center without power is quickly solved in manner of minutes.
• Alliterative Name: The Gravedigger, Ivan Imlay.
• Animal Wrongs Group: Claire, the victim, was part of one, claiming that taxidermy was cruelty and The Wollcrafts' experiments with animals were sick. Not that she was wrong with the last one.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: None of the Wollcrafts seem to be right on their minds: Victor experiments on animals and ways to bring back them to life, Fran digs up graves for her husband's experiments, and Percy steals bones from the museum for the same reason, then kills his girlfriend when she rightfully tried to expose them.
• Call-Back: Constance Bell returns as a suspect, working as the new curator of Grimsborough Museum after the previous one was arrested.
• Creepy Cemetery: One of the crime scenes is a pet cemetery.
• Continuity Nod:
  • The victim worked in the same museum where the corpse of Wilfred Turnscrew was exhibited.
  • Jones mentions that time they had a supposed vampire in custody.
• Delayed Reaction: After Nathan analyzes the DNA of the dead dog Ivan brought to you:
  Nathan: Well, I compared the corpse's tissue with the DNA traces inside the coffin, and I can affirm you they're a match. It's Elphaba, or at least part of it.
  Jones: Great, so we can — Sorry, what did you say? Did you say "part of it"?
• Family Honor: Percy killed Claire after the latter tried to expose his family for their experiments.
  Percy: She wanted to destroy us! She wanted to destroy my family! I would kill her a hundred times more if I had to!
• High-Voltage Death: Claire Godwin was killed this way with an electrical machine.
• Karma Houdini: Neither Victor or Fran are punished for their experiments and grave robbing.
• Lampshade Hanging:
  • Victor mentions how everyone in Grimsborough seems to be obsessed with burgers, poking fun at how the player is awarded one by random people during each investigation.
  • When Constance calls you at the museum during the Additional Investigation, Jones asks if someone died again. Her response?
    Constance: What? No, nobody's dead of course! No need to be over dramatic, David Jones! Why would there always be a murder?
• Lost Pet Grievance: Fran Wollcraft has been grieving her family's dead bulldog for weeks. It's the reason why her husband tried to bring it back to life with his machine.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: Apart from having their dog's body, Victor also combined dinosaur bones onto its corpse whilst trying to revive it.
• Mundane Utility: In the end, Victor transforms his electrical machine into burger-making one.
• Noodle Incident: When the blackout happens, Jones asks if Ramirez tried to plug his heating slippers again.
• Rhetorical Question Blunder: After Victor explains how he tried to reanimate their dog, Jones asks if he's serious, then immediatly backs off with "don't answer that."
• Shout-Out:
  • The case has many references to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley:
    • The victim's name, Claire Godwin, comes from Claire Clairmont, stepsister to Shelley, and Shelley's maiden name, Godwin.
    • Ivan Imlay's surname comes from Fanny Imlay, Shelley's half-sister, and his appearance is based on Marty Feldman's portrayal of Igor in Young Frankenstein.
    • The Wollcrafts' family name comes from Shelley's mother's maiden name, Wollstonecraft.
    • Victor, the father is named after Victor Frankenstein. Jones even calls him Dr. Frankenstein at one point
    • Fran, the mother's name, comes from Frankenstein itself.
    • Percy, the son, is named after Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley's husband.
    • The family lives on Shelley Street.
    • The case centers on the attempted resurrection of a deceased dog in the same manner the monster was given life.
  • In the beginning, the video Jones is showing the player is the video Charlie Bit My Finger
  • The dead dog that the Wolffcrafts are trying to bring back to life is named Elphaba.
• So Proud of You: In a dark and twisted example, Victor tells this to his son during his trial, since he killed Claire to protect them and their honor.
• Soapbox Sadie: The victim, who was part of an Animal Wrongs Group, berated The Wollcrafts, including her boyfriend Percy, for their experiments that involved trying to back animals back to life. When she tried to expose them to have them arrested, Percy killed Claire to silence her and protect his family.
• Suddenly Shouting: Constance has many examples during this case.
  Constance: Why not? He's a hard working kid, and he needed a place to hide from his parents. And he never put sauce on one of my books. UNLIKE YOU, DAVID JONES!