Brain Teasers
Family Fired!
Mary Beem, who was a wife, mother of four and grandmother of nine, was shot to death by an angry relative. Find out the name of the relative it was by piecing together the relationships of each person with the clues below.
The killer's sister was suspicious of her sibling and confirmed her distrust by talking to three people: her grandfather Bob, her cousin Bo, and her uncle (blood relative) Bill. She called the police, and the suspect was apprehended at the victim's funeral service. Only the direct descendants and their spouses were present. (Note: None of Mary's grandchildren were married or had kids, and no two people have the same first name.)
1. Bill was talking with his brother-in-law Barry.
2. Bart, Buck, and Bruce (who were all brothers) were by their grandmother's casket.
3. Mary's daughter May, who was with her husband Ben, had their two children: Missy and Bernie.
4. Mo, Bob's son-in-law, was comforting his wife Robin, and both were keeping an eye on their sons.
5. Bo was by himself in a corner grieving, while his sister Molly was talking with their cousin Megan.
6. Myra was consoling one of her two children, Brad, who had been very close to his grandmother.
7. Bob was with his daughter Maria.
NOTE: Each of the 4 couples has at least 2 kids.
WHO IS THE KILLER?
The killer's sister was suspicious of her sibling and confirmed her distrust by talking to three people: her grandfather Bob, her cousin Bo, and her uncle (blood relative) Bill. She called the police, and the suspect was apprehended at the victim's funeral service. Only the direct descendants and their spouses were present. (Note: None of Mary's grandchildren were married or had kids, and no two people have the same first name.)
1. Bill was talking with his brother-in-law Barry.
2. Bart, Buck, and Bruce (who were all brothers) were by their grandmother's casket.
3. Mary's daughter May, who was with her husband Ben, had their two children: Missy and Bernie.
4. Mo, Bob's son-in-law, was comforting his wife Robin, and both were keeping an eye on their sons.
5. Bo was by himself in a corner grieving, while his sister Molly was talking with their cousin Megan.
6. Myra was consoling one of her two children, Brad, who had been very close to his grandmother.
7. Bob was with his daughter Maria.
NOTE: Each of the 4 couples has at least 2 kids.
WHO IS THE KILLER?
Hint
Draw a family tree.Each of the 4 children of Mary Beem has a spouse, and each couple has children. Since all must have at least two kids, only one couple has three kids (a total of 9 grandchildren).
Answer
From the killer's sister's conversation, Bob is Mary's husband, Bill is one of Mary's children, and Bo is a grandchild.From clue 1 and 2, Barry was a spouse, and since Bart, Buck and Bruce were all brothers, they were the set of three kids. Clue 3 is straightforward - Mary's daughter May is married to Ben and has two kids: Missy and Bernie.
From 4, Robin is a daughter and Bob her spouse. From 5, Bo and Molly are siblings and grandchildren (since they have a cousin present). Megan has to be from the last couple. Mo and Robin could only have been parents to the three boys (Bart Bruce and Buck), since all other siblings were a boy and girl.
Clue 6 gives the name of the remaining child, Brad, who must be a sibling of Megan. Both have a mother by the name of Myra. It is unknown at this point if Myra is a spouse or a direct relative.
Since clue 7 says that Bob (Mary's husband) was with his daughter Maria, Myra becomes a spouse. Then, by default, Bo and Molly belong to Maria.
So now, knowing that the killer's sister is COUSIN to Bo, Bill's NIECE, and Bob's GRANDDAUGHTER, the killer must be BERNIE.
Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
What Next?
View a Similar Brain Teaser...
If you become a registered user you can vote on this brain teaser, keep track of which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
Solve a Puzzle
Comments
cleverly constructed... as usual
I would just point out that the answer claims Bob is Robin's spouse. This is incorrect, Bob is the grandfather and spouse of the victim. Mo is Robin's spouse.
Thanks for pointing out the mistake... these things slip by me when I'm writing them up!
a really clever teaser, it takes a while to get it though.
i loved that one. i hope i find more like it.
quite confusing.. i dun realli understand
well done, enjoyed solving it
Thanks everyone! I appreciate the comments!
It was too hard! I didn't even finish reading it! Too many words!
why missy is not the killer?no other point about missy.
Loved it!
To answer the question: Why could Missy not be the killer?
Because "The killer's sister was suspicious of her sibling" implies the killer has a sister, has a grandpa Bob (dead Mary's hubby), a cousin Bo (means killer's sister isn't Molly, Bo's sister) and an uncle Bill. Since Buck, Bart and Bruce can't have a sister because there are only 9 grandkids, that leaves just Missy and Bernie. Missy was suspicious of her sibling (Bernie) and turned him in.
Because "The killer's sister was suspicious of her sibling" implies the killer has a sister, has a grandpa Bob (dead Mary's hubby), a cousin Bo (means killer's sister isn't Molly, Bo's sister) and an uncle Bill. Since Buck, Bart and Bruce can't have a sister because there are only 9 grandkids, that leaves just Missy and Bernie. Missy was suspicious of her sibling (Bernie) and turned him in.
hehee..now i know that bernie is male.u should write bernie(m) and missy(f) so that no one will get confused.m and f indicate male and female.
To post a comment, please create an account and sign in.
Follow Braingle!