DICE Trial #1 - Suspect Keima Katsuragi

[Ravan]

To be honest? Prior to myself discovering them, I had to assist a group of four high schoolers in escaping from the officers. They were beating the students with batons and chasing after us across the city. They even took one of these students' things from him, though to be fair, he may have been doing questionable things with them, so I could understand why. The other students definitely didn't deserve it as far as I could tell.

I was wondering whatever had happened to the motto "Serve and protect" when it came to the police. They seemed all too quick to resort to violence.

So to answer your question, I don't know. Perhaps they were less prone to violent actions than the other officers. Perhaps they were the same when it came to resorting to violence immediately, regardless of the amount of resistance they met. I've encountered others that have stated that the police have harrassed them as of late however, so it's rather difficult to consider them legitimate protectors of the peace at this point in time.

Is there anything else?

[The Viscount]

"Ms. Ayame, you just served to hurt your own case. Not only are these policemen too eager to attack everything and anything that moves - I am proof enough of this, but in any case, a city advisor has every reason to avoid capture by the police. Being arrested does tarnish one's relationship quite a bit, don't you know?"


"Unless the defense has any further objections, I would think we are already ready to start the vote. I am sorry, Ms. Ayame... But it looks like I may have just won this round."


*The Viscount returns to his seat... and begins to laugh hysterically to himself, clearly oblivious that a lot of stuff still might need answering.*

[Daedalus]

"It is commendable of you to have helped these students, Agent Stocke. None wish to see the future generation abused, me even less than most."

She smiles slightly.

"However, I cannot say that, with the increasing instability of this city, that I can assume my four classmates were innocent of wrongdoing when you came across them. If we assume that they broke the law, or even went so far as to antagonize these police officers, do the officers not have a right to retaliate?"

"Even if it is the sad case that our police have turned to vigilante justice, it can be deduced, can it not, that they were chasing both Sova and the children you protected through the streets because they came across them in the streets and they ran? Even if such an arrest order were to be put out on Keima, it is very obvious that our Chief of Police, as he has outright stated, knew where Keima lived. So, why did the altercation not happen within the apartment? Forensics has made it clear that the altercation happened outside, on 5th street. Wouldn't it make more sense for the police to have been either breaking in the door to arrest Keima, or waiting to pounce right outside his door, if they are as violent as you claim? At least in the lobby, one would think! But no, they were beaten in the street. Not as an invading force, but as an unaware pack of sheep to a hungry wolf!"

"But, my apologies, Agent Stocke, those are questions that I'm sure my esteemed colleague can answer. You may step down."

Ayame turns to the Viscount.

"Well, sir? Do you have a response for why it happened on 5th street, if the cops were sent after Mr. Katsuragi? After all, they died at 6. Surely that was more than enough time for them to have entered the apartment in search of their suspect, if they were intending to. Or to wait in the lobby, if they were intending to. Indeed, I have the police duty roster right here that says that their only assigned duty at the time was to 'patrol 5th street.' Not wait for Keima, not apprehend Keima. Simply patrol the street and keep the peace. Or do you think others share the same hatred you do for the man, the hatred that caused you to attack him from a dark alley with a knife two days ago? Not all are so bloodthirsty as you, sir. And not all live in Apartment 3-2 like you do, sir."

[The Viscount]

*The Viscount's laughter suddenly rings throughout the halls of the court, loud as ever. His hand slams into the desk as he rises once again, almost as loud as the laughter.*


"Isn't it obvious? Isn't, it, obvious? Hahahahahahahaha! Think! There are many reasons why they'd not pursue him directly! There are many!"


"One, they did not receive the full order! Not yet, at least! They were only told to look out for him being suspicious, they didn't have a warrant out for his arrest yet!"


"So they waited for him to leave his own home! And they took the chance! NOBODY likes Keima Katsuragi, and yet, I'm being perfectly fair! Anyways, the police don't like him either! Don't you know this?! NOBODY LIKES HIM! So when they saw him, they thought to attack him and frame him for some crime or another!"


"And so he killed them, to keep their mouths shut! Likely for a crime he did not even commit! Hahahahaha!"


"Also, there's another explanation! What happened when Agent Stocke approached Keima's supposed place of residence! THAT'S RIGHT! HE WASN'T THERE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"


"So maybe, just maybe, HE WASN'T THERE! And so, I rest my case! Either way is possible, and probable! Either he wasn't at home or the warrant wasn't out just yet! Choose your poison!"

[Daedalus]

Ayame cocks her eyebrow.

"So either you're saying they hadn't received their orders yet and just randomly decided to attack him, or he was not actually at home. The first to me seems absolutely ridiculous and predicated on the idea that 4 random cops would take the initiative to attack someone that, in your scenario, they hadn't gotten a warrant for yet. Or, alternatively, he came upon them while coming home from some errand. That one I consider more believable, but let's approach the first argument first."

"Assuming he was attacked without provocation by the officers, he is within his rights to defend himself. Much as he did with you. I would like to submit to the court this photograph, taken on my phone from a window at the time two days ago at the moment when the prosecutor leapt out of an alley wielding a knife, and proceeded to slash at Keima as he was walking home. How do I know he was walking home? I was in his apartment, and this was taken from his window. I witnessed the battle, and it is just as the prosecutor said. Keima took him down in two punches, even wielding a knife. Now, I do not have a high opinion of the adviser myself, I admit, and I expected the adviser to either kill him or go to the police. However, it was not Keima who went to the police. It was not Keima who falsified a police report to make it so that he was the victim rather than the attacker. Instead, that was the Viscount, the man now prosecuting a case against Keima and who volunteered to prosecute from the very start, and who fought long and hard to suggest it was Keima during our initial debates."

"And," she says, with a pause, "the man who could be downed by Keima in only two punches. Now, I have here the autopsy report that states that the victims have multiple bruises around the chest and face. Bruises from fists. Multiple, ladies and gentlemen. Keima went up against an ambushing man with a knife and downed him in two hits in a matter of moments. Why would he need so many more for simple police officers? Perhaps maybe 4 or so each, but there are extensive and numerous bruises. No, Keima, had he been forced into a fight with them, was strong enough to have knocked them out easily. Strong enough to have carried them to the pool instead of dragging them. Strong enough to kill them in the street, rather than needing the pool at all."

"But not so bloodthirsty as to kill them without cause. If they had something he wanted, he did not need to kill them, and there was no profit in murder, either ethically or literally. Not for him."

"Now, as for your second theory, Agent Stocke! Sorry to call on you again, but I have been looking at the police report here and I have Keima's room number. Could you confirm which room you went to again, and how sure you are of it?"

[Ravan]

I went to room 3002, I am 100% certain that was the room. However, he was not there at the time. Instead I met a rather irritated old lady. I later found out that this was his grandmother.

Is there anything else?

[Daedalus]

Ayame laughs.

"His Grandmother? Truly?" She laughs again. "Then all is solved. His grandmother was with him, surely that constitutes an alibi. Likely caring for her son after an attack on his life. And what son who is facing a threat such as this would want to spread that threat to his grandmother by revealing her identity or that she tends to his wounds. Yes, Keima, your defense of your grandmother is admirable, but now we have established that you were indeed in that room, so you would not have met others out on the street."

"Indeed, as this trial has gone on, I am more certain than ever that Keima did not do it. In fact, someone else in this courtroom did. Someone in building 3-2 with no alibi. The Viscount. A man who obviously has a deep hatred of Keima. A man who could know Keima's comings and goings, to ensure that he would not have an alibi because he was supposed to be alone in his room. Even perhaps a man with a deep sense of personal ego, one who could not help but include phrases praising himself in the News Broadcast he himself hacked into the News Station."

"So that is is, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I say to you that it was not Keima Katsuragi who killed those policemen, but a weak man, a man too weak to knock out the police with a couple punches, but instead took many. A weak man who had to drag those officers to the pool. A weak man who was not strong enough to face the threat of Keima like a man, but instead strike from the shadows at a time he knew him to be vulnerable. At the very least, I believe I have proven that Keima had no reason to commit this crime, and that he was in his room. Unless the prosecutor has anything further to add that I may rebutt, I rest my case."

[The Viscount]

"Ohohohoho! So, I see how you intend to win this fight! By slandering the prosecution!"


"Sorry, little girl, but IT WAS NOT MY FIRST INTENTION TO ATTACK KEIMA! In fact... SOMEONE ELSE CAME TO ME AND SAID THAT THEY SUSPECTED KEIMA KATSURAGI! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ISN'T THAT AMAZING?"


"I'd only been pursuing Keima because I agreed with them with the short time I was able to investigate, but they took all my time and I couldn't even see the bodies before they were evacuated! ANYWAYS! There are a bunch of things that could have caused some of the bruising, like the dragging and stacking! They were still ALIVE, after all! But also, let me just say this much!"


"COPS ARE MUCH STRONGER THAN SCHOLARS! Hahahahahahahahaha! Don't you know why leaders have cops go out to do their dirty work? Why they have henchmen and lackeys? It's all because they can't do the stuff themselves! But Keima... The *******'s DIFFERENT. The *******'s STRONG."


"A man like me? I could only hope to run away from the cops! But a man like Keima... He could beat them like this! And think, he was probably attacked by four different cops, with BATONS, at once! Sure, if I managed to have a knife and stab at him, and he managed to defeat me, then it wouldn't be that much! I'm just one man! But they are FOUR and they are STRONGER. I myself managed to get a couple of good hits on Keima myself! What couldn't four stronger men do to him?!"

[The Viscount]

"Ohoho! Now I see, yes, you do intend to blame me! Someone with no alibi! Someone with a deep hatred for Keima! I admit BOTH of these! I have no alibi! I HATE KEIMA KATSURAGI!"


"But let me ask you this... How could I have beaten FOUR COPS? And, why wouldn't I just use this knife that I was mentioned to be having to end them, too? Logically, it's not me! I'm not strong enough! Especially if Keima can just knock me silly in but TWO HITS!"


"And, might I mention, Keima's grandmother was protecting KEIMA as well as KEIMA protecting his grandmother! Also, KEIMA claimed to be living alone, that there wasn't an old lady living in his home! Sure, that's false! WHY, oh WHY did he hide this then?"


"No, I suspect KEIMA more than ever now! YOUR argument is determined to defend KEIMA by BLAMING ME! Well, stop blaming ME and start talking more about HOW IT CANNOT BE HIM!"


"And, now, might I remind you? The men were NOT stationed to hunt for Keima, no! They were stationed to KEEP PEOPLE INDOORS! Tell me, if they had already searched Keima's home, and Keima was not present, as he was not when Agent Stocke here visited his home, then what is one reason for forcing everyone to be indoors?"


"THAT'S RIGHT! To lure out Keima and trap him on his way home! Ingenious, I might add!"


*The Viscount suddenly straightens up, and gets very serious.*


"So, the fun ends now. I underestimated you, truly. But I can't just sit by and laugh about this all. But, please, Ms. Attorney, explain why Keima could not have done this. Then, and ONLY then, will I concede defeat. But, be warned..."


"If it is not Keima, then I am not the one you should be looking to. No, instead, look for someone who intends only harm on others. I have use for others. Simply killing those who I must have remained on the good side of until now is not in my best interests, instead, simply turning myself and letting myself be escorted to the police station, or running there myself if they would not be peaceful, would be in my interests. That way, I make off as being an honest citizen, one who does not seem to have a knowledgeable grasp of the laws and needs to be taught them before release in order to be a better citizen. Well, Ms. Attorney? Wouldn't THAT be the best way for me to get out of this, instead of just beating four officers, which I still stress I could not do, and killing them?"


"Oh, and I will also claim now that I didn't know of the pool in Apartment 3-1 until now. I actually have only been in my own residence, Apartment 3-2, since I arrived here. I have not been in any other place other than to investigate this crime.

[Daedalus]

Ayame nods.

"Very well. In order. You did not use the knife possibly because using the knife might implicate you. After all, you knew that I at least knew you had a knife, as I helped you up that day after you assaulted Keima."

"For the grandmother, it is likely as I said. He does not live with her, and I have confirmation here in this file that she is out of the city now. She likely came in just to tend to him, and as he is constantly under threat, he did not want her exposed to danger."

"I have utterly nothing in the folder to suggest that they searched his home. Even after the crime, they did not search his apartment. Your argument that they were told to keep people indoors to catch him returning has fallen apart."

"You ask me to prove that he can not have done this crime. That is impossible for me to do, as I cannot look into the past. What I can do is prove that he was likely in his room at the time when Agent Stocke asked at his door, being tended to by family. I have proven that he would have had no motive to kill the officers, and indeed no motive to attack them. I have proven that if they were to attack him and he defended himself, he is not one to kill haphazardly, and he would have nothing to gain by their deaths."

"Further, I have provided someone who would have a motive to use a crime to frame Mr. Katsuragi, a proven willingness to use deadly force in an unprovoked attack, who has absolutely no alibi as you are a self-confessed 'loner,' and who lives in the area."

"By framing Mr. Katsuragi, you remove your competition, and thusly it was in your best interests to kill those cops."

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this is not a trial to prove the guilt of this man, but to decide the fate of Keima Katsuragi. I feel that I have proven that it is ludicrous to believe that he committed the crime. Even if you do not believe as I do, surely you believe it unlikely."

[Daedalus]

"Oh, and by the way, Prosecutor?"

"The forensics also state I was slightly off on my hand calculation. I underestimated. It was a little bigger. Which means your hand is a perfect fit."