Ace Attorney: Secrets beneath Secrets

Turnabout Wilds, Part 5

March 4

Courtroom No. 2

11:45 AM

Lily Shield

"The day of the murder, the defendant, the previous witness, and the victim all went to the nature preserve with intent of asking questions. They were trying to find the truth behind a tax fraud case that they were given a hint about from the mysterious Oracle of the Law. They headed towards the main office of the owner of the preserve, the current witness, Lou Hernan. Along the way, they paused when Mr. Amaya received a phone call. He had been waiting on a call from the Prosecutor's Office and thought it had finally come, so he stepped aside for a brief period to see who it was that had called him.

"Our current witness was the one who had called him, using a recording of a seeming spam number to keep him away from the crime scene. The recording was originally recorded on a small black sound box we found in his office during our investigation. While the call was rolling, Mr. Hernan moved towards the crime scene with a bow and quiver of arrows. Normally, the bow and quiver hung from the wall of his office, though he took them down for this 'special occasion.'

"He went towards the area where Ms. Amaya and the victim were standing, waiting for Mr. Amaya to return. They were halfway between the entrance to the preserve and the office at the time. Mr. Hernan waited for the perfect opportunity before shooting an arrow at the victim, hitting her in the neck and killing her instantly.

"The victim keeled over, dead from the shot, prompting Ms. Amaya to see if she was alright. While she was checking for a pulse to frantically see if her coworker was alright, Mr. Hernan snuck up behind her. He had the quiver in his hands. He swung it over his head and knocked Ms. Amaya unconscious, giving her a concussion using a cylindrical, blunt object. She felt what the weapon was like as she passed out, an important piece of evidence, as I'm sure you've noticed.

"The defendant returned to the crime scene after realizing the phone call was spam. He saw the dead body and his unconscious sister and panicked. Mr. Hernan, who had hidden the weapons used against the witness and victim elsewhere, seized Mr. Amaya and had him arrested when the police arrived.

"While Mr. Amaya was still gone, Mr. Hernan tampered severely with the crime scene. He made it look as if the weapon used against Ms. Amaya was a sharp rock as opposed to a blunt cylindrical object. He did this by putting some of her blood on the rock. He also took the papers relating to the tax fraud case from the victim and the witness while they were dead and unconscious respectively. He hid the papers, bow, and quiver elsewhere before arresting Mr. Amaya and turning him over to the police. Mr. Hernan seized Mr. Amaya's files on the tax fraud at that time.

"After turning Mr. Amaya over to the police, he returned to his office and hid the files in his desk. He also hung up the bow and quiver on the wall to make it look as if they had never left. He rubbed off the blood from the quiver using a small piece of fabric, which he then burned and threw into the dirt to keep it from being found. He was unaware there were still traces of blood able to be picked up by the forensics team. His fingerprints also remained on the quiver from when he had struck Ms. Amaya, showing it had been used as a weapon.

"This is how our case comes together at last. Mr. Hernan killed the victim and went so far here to seize their papers regarding the tax fraud. He had likely intended to keep the controversy quiet, but despite his effort, word of it still reached other people. It was common knowledge regarding this case, but we had no idea that it was intended to stay secret. All this time, the motive was hiding right under our noses. However, now that we've found the truth, there's no going back now. It seems perfectly clear to everyone what happened the day of the murder. What do you have to say to that, Mr. Hernan? Are you ready to confess to your crimes?! Even if you aren't, I believe everyone in this courtroom is perfectly aware of what you did!"