Dance Moms Murder Mystery

Part 8: The Conviction

Well, the time has come. After a week, the case has come to a close. You've looked over all the evidence, compared the timelines and testimonies from each of the suspects, picked out several discrepancies, and have finally settled on your verdict. The nine suspects have been brought to separate interrogation rooms, where you will inform them of your decision. You didn't know how you did it, but after enough time, it all fell into place.

With that, you entered each interrogation room, delivered your verdict, and an hour later, you left the station a lighter and more relaxed detective. While it would normally pain you to do something like this, you knew that it had to be done. It was the nature of your job; if a crime had been committed of this severity, those who committed it would need to be punished, no matter who they were.

The days following your decision, your co-workers and the media swarmed you with questions regarding the investigation. You answered blankly, more aiming to get the question over with than to answer it. You began to get annoyed; not from the questions, but from your own thinking. You had solved the case, but there was still this itching feeling inside of you: you still did not understand why the murder had to happen in the first place. Sure, you knew the motive, but you truly did not understand why it all had to end in murder.

Eventually, it all became too much to bear; you just had to find out the answer for yourself. One morning, you hastily made your way over to the Youth Authority Center in Los Angeles, California. You were let in without resistance, and a guard led you towards your destination. The prison was well-kept, and plentiful with cells. As you passed by the countless amount of cells, you gazed upon the dozens of teenagers stuck in them. You took a brief moment to reflect on what the teenagers' lives could have been if they chose a different path, before continuing on. Eventually, you reached your destination: cell B286, the cell where a young teen had been brought in several days prior. You sat down on a stool outside the cell, and proceeded to question the teenager.

"Hello again. Do you remember me?" you ask, to which the teenager doesn't respond, clearly angered with you.

"Listen, from what I've heard, you've barely said a word since you've arrived. Do you mind talking now?" you ask, trying to get the teen to cooperate.

"I know my rights..." the teenager replies, turning away from you, "I know that I'm innocent, and that's that."

"You're not innocent. There's conclusive evidence showing your involvement in the murder: timeline correlations, motive, connection to the murder weapon, testimony admittances, we've got it all. You're not getting out of this scot-free, kiddo'," you reveal, hoping to pry some form of information out, "You're best hope is to enter a plea bargain and you could end up getting your sentenced reduced a bit."

"I'm not a murderer..." the teenager mutters, their face still turned away from you, "I'm not a murderer..."

"Suit yourself," you reply whilst getting up from your chair and preparing to leave, "Enjoy prison, Kendall Vertes."

Unexpectedly, Kendall runs up from her seated position and towards the door, pounding her right fist on the door separating her cell from the corridor, screaming, "Jack set me up! I'm telling you! It was him! It's not me! It was Jack!"

"Don't worry....I'll talk to him too," you respond before continuing your trek down the corridor, the sound a slamming metal door fading in the distance.

"Excuse me," you state to the guard from before, "Where is Jack Kelly's cell?"

"I believe that is cell C149. Please follow me," the guard responds before walking away, ushering you to follow him.

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Well, that's about as good as the reveal will get. Honestly, I bounced back and forth with deciding who was going to kill Maddie, and this was the one that I felt made the most sense to me. Sorry to the Kendall and Jack fans, but this is what I decided. The three parts will feature a confession from Jack over what truly went on during the day of the murder, an explanation of several discrepancies and moments from the timelines and testimonies, and special facts about the process I went through when creating the story. Stay tuned for more.