Recap / Criminal Case: World Edition - Case 49: Day of the Dead

Not the only calaca you'll see.

The Bureau arrives to Tijuana, Mexico, to learn more about the wall the U.S. has suddenly decided to build across the country's borders for unknown reasons. There, Chief Ripley sends Jack and the player to the construction site to see what they can make out of the situation, only to find the body of Cindy Hamilton, the project coordinator for the wall, hung up like a piñata and beaten to death.

Tropes:

• The Alcoholic: Ramon calls himself a drunkard while explaining the reasons why he and Ingrid split apart in the past.
• It's Always Mardi Gras in New Orleans: The case takes place at the same time the Day of the Dead celebrations are being held in Mexico. This is despite the fact that, just a few days ago, you also attended the Olympic Games Ceremony (which is supposed to occur at the start of August), while Day of the Dead isn't celebrated until the beginning of November.
• Amicable Exes: By the end of this case, Ingrid and Ramon decide to make amends with each other and stop running from the past, finally solving the rift between them and staying on good terms after the Bureau leaves Mexico.
• Asshole Victim: Besides being the project coordinator for the U.S./Mexico wall, Cindy Hamilton disrespected the Day of the Dead traditions by sitting on a memorial altar, drinking the offering water, and lighting a cigarette using a memorial candle, and when Lupita offered to make amends, she laughed in her face. She also called a Mexican woman's child a half breed. With that in mind, it can be hard to feel sorry that she got murdered.
• Badass Biker: One of the killer's traits is that they ride a motorcycle, and Lars mentions how he used to be a biker in the past during his college days.
• Bludgeoned to Death: Cindy was found strung up like a piñata, and coincidentally was killed with a piñata bat.
• Buffy Speak: After Dupont explains to you some Aztec mythology and how they celebrated their war god Huitzilopochtli with piñatas, Jack calls said god Hootzilly and Hotzapockle before giving up.
• Calacas: One of the crime scenes is a Day of the Dead parade full of calacas all over the place. Lupita Mendez, the parade organizer, is seen wearing make-up resembling one too.◊
• Call-Back: Ramon Cortez, Ingrid's ex-husband that you met in the previous case, reappears here as a suspect.
• The Casanova: Ramon Cortez, Ingrid's ex-husband, is shown to be a womanizer who was seen flirting with the victim. In fact, his Casanova tendencies are what provoked him and Ingrid to divorce in the first place.
  Ramon: Mi amor, Ramon doesn't talk about his sexual conquests. Like all true legends, it's others who will talk about it!
• Chivalrous Pervert: Ramon Cortez is a Casanova who likes to brag about how often he gets laid, but he's still one of the good guys and the one who called you to Mexico and warned you about the wall in the first place.
• Cool Mask: You find one of a calaca as a clue, which Lupita gave to the victim as an offering.
• A Day in the Limelight: One for Ingrid, as most of the Additional Investigation is focused on her and her past with Ramon.
• Dead Guy on Display: After killing Cindy, Madena left her hanging by a hook in the construction site as a form of protest against the wall.
  Madena: When I realized what I had done, I decided to make an example of her, to draw attention to my cause.
  So I strung her up like a piñata, to show the world that Mexico wouldn't allow itself to be brutalized at the hands of America!
• Death by Racism: The victim was a racist woman who called Mexicans mongrels who should stay on their side of the border and disrespected the Day of the Dead tradition just for fun. When she called Madena's daughter a half-breed after mocking her for not being able to visit her at the USA anymore, Madena snapped and killed her in a fit of rage.
• Death of a Child: During the Additional Investigation, Marina and the player discover that Ingrid became the Ice Queen they've known until today after she lost her premature child, which also turned Ramon into a womanizer alcoholic and ultimately led to their divorce.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Ramon confesses that he became an alcoholic due to grieving his lost child with Ingrid.
• End of an Age: Made Cuervo firmly believes the wall between Mexico and the United States will mark the end of not only the peaceful relations between both countries, but also the USA with the rest of the world.
  Madena: Many of us have been working towards peace between the US and Mexico for decades. This wall will destroys all of that!
• Expository Hairstyle Change: After she finally makes amends with Ramon and properly decides to grieve her lost child, Ingrid returns to her usually blonde hair and even changes her white clothes to warmer colors to reflect her Defrosting Ice Queen status.
• Face Your Fears: In the Additional Investigation, Marina convinces Ingrid of making amends with Ramon and their lost child, which allows both of them to properly grieve him and stop running from the past.
• Fallen States of America: This case reveals that the United States are in the brink of a Second American Civil War as the country has split in two halves: the USNay movement, which wants the country to leave the Unified Nations, and the USStay movement, which naturally wants to remain. Obviously, this quickly lets Chief Ripley deduce that SOMBRA is planning to take advantage of the political tension "in the North" to execute their endgame plan, whatever it might be.
• Fictional United Nations: The Unified Nations, a parody of the United Nations which the USA is trying to leave due to Mexico wanting to put a sanction on the country because of the wall they're constructing.
• Hated by All: Practically everyone hated the victim in one way or another. While she was already unpopular due to being the project coordinator for the wall, her racist and disrespectful tendencies obviously didn't set well with the people in Mexico, and even her own brother had a reason to dislike her since she tried to expose how he was smuggling relics and artifacts across the border.
• Insufferable Imbecile: According to Lupita, Cindy was disrespectful to the Day of the Dead tradition just for the fun of it, which is made clear when you find a photo of Cindy sitting on an altar while drinking the tequila left on it.
• Line-of-Sight Name: Marvin Hamilton, who is an archaeologist working with artifacts, goes by the surname "Artie Facts".
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: The victim was tied up, covered in confetti and streamers, then beaten to death with a piñata stick by her killer.
• Powder Keg Crowd: As seen in this case, the Mexican protesters against the wall are just a provocation away of provoking a riot and tearing it down, finding the wall as a sign of oppression and aggressiveness by the USA.
• Premature Birth Drama: This case reveals that the reason why Ingrid and Ramon divorced and their lives got turned upside down was because their child was born premature and died, which left them so full of grief that they couldn't continue being with each other.
• Protest by Obstruction: The reason why Madena left Cindy's body at the construction site was because she wanted to use her as an example and obstruct the construction of the wall.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: During the Additional Investigation, you meet Niilo Virtanen, a Unified Nations representative trying to negotiate with Mexico and the USA about the whole wall and conflict ordeal and decides to help you understand the situation better.
• Shout-Out:
  • The case's title comes from the Mexican festival of the same name (Spanish: Día de los Muertos), which is also part of the case's setting.
  • In the Construction Site scene, there is a bag of chips parodying Doritos.
  • In the Altar scene, there is a portrait of Frida Kahlo.
  • The Unified Nations is a parody of the United Nations, and the political turmoil of the United States leaving it is a parody of Brexit.
• "Shut Up!" Gunshot: Jack does this with the wall protesters after they try to tear it down and destroy the construction site, since that would compromise the crime scene.
• Straw Misogynist: Chico Alegria, the contractor helping with the wall, acts like this due to the victim replacing him and his crew with American contractors.
  Chico: I'm a direct descendant from a powerful Aztec warrior, I deserve more respect! This is what happens when a woman runs things! When I started out, women knew their place... and it wasn't on a building site!
• Title Drop: The Day of the Dead celebration is mentioned multiple times throughout the case.
• Venturous Smuggler: Marvin Hamilton, the victim's brother, is an archeologist that was smuggling Aztec artifacts across the border due to believing the US would take better care of them, which got him in problem with Cindy when she found out.
• Walls of Tyranny: The protesters against the wall see it as this, finding it to be nothing but a sign of oppression and aggressiveness for the part of the USA and want them to be sanctioned by the Unified Nations as a result.