Brain Teasers
A Murder in Heather's Family 2
Heather, her husband, their son, their daughter, and Heather's brother lived together in a house...until yesterday, when one of the five was murdered by one of the other four. Here are some facts that refer only to the five family members:
1. At the time of the murder, a man and a woman were at the store together, the murderer and the victim were at the park together, and one of Heather's two children was at home alone.
2. Heather and her husband were apart at the time of the murder.
3. The victim's sibling is not the murderer.
4. The murderer is younger than the victim.
Who was murdered?
1. At the time of the murder, a man and a woman were at the store together, the murderer and the victim were at the park together, and one of Heather's two children was at home alone.
2. Heather and her husband were apart at the time of the murder.
3. The victim's sibling is not the murderer.
4. The murderer is younger than the victim.
Who was murdered?
Answer
Heather's brother was murdered.From facts 1 and 2, Heather and her husband were at the store and the park, in some order. Suppose Heather was at the park. Then, from fact 1, Heather's husband and their daughter were at the store, their son was at home, and Heather and her brother were at the park, which means that one of Heather and her brother must have killed the other. But, from fact 3, this cannot work, which means that Heather was at the store.
Suppose the man at the store with Heather was her brother. Then her husband was at the park with one of the two children. Since the husband is obviously older than the children, fact 4 tells us that he could not have killed them. But since he doesn't have a sibling who lives with him, fact 3 tells us he can't be the victim either.
This means that Heather and her son were at the store, her daughter was at home, and Heather's husband and brother were at the park. Again, from fact 3, the husband could not have been the victim, which means that he was the murderer and the brother was the victim.
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