Murder Mystery Dinner Theater
 Credit Unknown - transferred from lds-yw files
 

Instructions for set up:
 

This activity should be set up in groups of eight. In each group you will have one youth to represent each of six characters and an adult leader to assist. Put an eighth chair at each table so that if a youth shows up late you put them at a table and let them read the clues; if this occurs, the adult leader should stay and help.
 

As the youth come in, assign each to a table, provide a nametag and seat them. (We will have one "set " of suspects at each table.) Don't give out the clues until you are instructed to later in the activity. When characters receive their clue, they should not show them to any other character.
 

The murder mystery is set around a three-course dinner:
 

·         Round 1- chips and salsa

·         Round 2- taco salad

·         Round 3- dessert
 

An adult leader will read the introduction below:
 

“You are about to become a murder suspect and so is everyone else involved in this activity. You can prove your innocence only by proving that someone else is guilty. The people at your table must work together to solve the mystery. As the evening progresses, each person will receive an outline of their character and pieces of information that will be known only to them. You must be sure to clearly and accurately reveal all the facts that you know about yourself and the other suspects in each round. You may not lie about the clues you are given. When someone provides information that places suspicion on you, you may want to change the subject and raise suspicion on a different character. This activity is divided into three rounds.
 

Round 1- first meal course and clue #1
Round 2- second meal course and clue #2
Round 3- dessert and clue #3
 

Do not go on to the next round until you are told to do so. At the conclusion of the three rounds, you should decide as a table who you believe is the murderer. The solution will be revealed after the final round. Remember, you are out to catch a murderer. Be inquisitive! Be aggressive! Be suspicious!”
 

Each table will play the game at the same time, but separately. The adult leader at the table should set the scene:
 

The scene is the home of Judge Jones, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. On this Tuesday evening (or whatever evening you are meeting) Judge Jones was found murdered. He had multiple stab wounds and was found lying in a pool of blood. There are six suspects, all with a motive for the murder. They are: (Have the youth stand as their characters are called)
 

Mr./Ms. Nelson-- He has always been a fine, upstanding member of the community

Judge Black--A very high ranking, but corrupt judge. He hates Mr./Ms. Nelson and would like to see him behind bars, but he fears a public outcry.

Sean Jones, J.D.-- He is the brother of the murder victim, Chief Judge Justice Jones. He is also a powerful attorney.

Mr./Ms. Mult-- An average citizen who is a friend of Mr./Ms. Nelson.

Mr./Ms. Fife- Works for Chief Justice Jones (the dead man) and Judge Black.

Maid-- Works for Chief Justice Jones (the dead man)
 

The leader should distribute the clues for round one to each character and choose a character to begin. The characters should go around the table, revealing clues in order or questioning and answering clues. The characters should continue in this manner throughout the first course. (NOTE: The murderer will know who he or she is in order to launch a better offense.)
 

At the time specified (after all the tables are finished eating), the leader should distribute the clues for round two to each character and choose a character to begin. The characters should go around the table, revealing clues in order or questioning and answering clues. The characters should continue in this manner throughout the second course.
 

At the time specified (after all the tables are finished eating), the leader should distribute the clues for round three to each character and choose a character to begin. The characters should go around the table, revealing clues in order or questioning and answering clues. The characters should continue in this manner throughout the third course.
 

At the time specified and after dessert, each table decide who they think is the murderer. Each table should choose one person as a spokesman and have them stand and tell who they think did it and why.  The murderer will be revealed.
 

 THIS PAGE IS TO BE SEEN ONLY BY THE PERSON ORGANIZING THE MYSTERY AND THE PERSON CHOSEN TO REVEAL THE MURDERER.
 

This murder mystery is taken from the Book of Mormon. But none of the participants will realize that. Study Helaman 8 and 9. At the conclusion of the murder mystery dinner, use your scriptures and relate the story in Helaman to solve this murder.
 

Mr. Enn is Nephi (Helaman 8 and 9)
Judge Black is all the other judges (Helaman 9:13)
 Mr. Mult is the multitude (Helaman 9:19)
Mr. Fife is the 5 men who went and saw the dead man (Helaman 9:1-6)
The Maid is the servants who ran (Helaman 9:6)
Sean Jones, JD, is the murderer, Seantum (Helaman 9:26)

Mr./Ms. Nelson First Round Clues:
 

You are a fine, upstanding member of the community.

You own a nice house in a wealthy part of town.

You are popular in the community.

You have heard that Judge Black has been willing to take bribes when deciding court decisions, but you have never been able to prove it.

You have discovered that Judge Black is part of a secret group trying to put themselves in power.

You know Judge black has been covering up crimes for his friends.
 

Mr./Ms. Nelson Second Round Clues:

You were recently out of town at a business conference, but your presentation wasn’t well received.

You recently wrote a letter to the editor denouncing Judge Black and his corrupt group of friends and telling the community that it would be in trouble if he stayed in office.

You had a dream about the Chief Justice’s murder and you mention it to your friend Mr. Mult.

You attended Sean Jones’ press release about his brother’s death. At the press release, you saw blood on Sean Jones’ clothing.

Mr./Ms. Nelson Third Round Clues:

You were with Justice Black at the time of the murder.

You know that Sean Jones envied his position as Chief Justice. You have heard Sean Jones talking about how much he would like the job.

You believe that Sean Jones killed the Chief Justice so that he could have position and power for himself, thus fulfilling a lifelong dream.

You believe the blood on Sean Jones clothing is really the Chief Justice’s blood.
 

Judge Black First Round Clues:

You are a very high ranking, but corrupt judge. You hate Mr./Ms. Nelson because he is often critical of you, and he meddles in your business.

Mr./Ms. Fife has worked for both you and Chief Justice Jones for the past several years and he/she Fife has full access to both your home and office and Chief Justice Jones’ home and office.

Nelson owns a nice house, but he has never been willing to leave you alone with promise of a bit of money.

You have been known to take bribes to decide court decisions if the amount is right.

You are having an affair on your wife.

Judge Black Second Round Clues:

You think that Mr./Ms. Nelson’s recent letter to the editor about you is only the tip of the iceberg and that he will stop at nothing to remove you and your friends from power.

You know that Mr./Ms. Nelson was recently out of town at a business conference, and you’ve heard that he was thrown out because he was so busy denouncing the group’s business practices.

You have a bit of a gambling debt, but it has never made you worry too much; you always manage to get your money back.

You overheard Mr./Ms. Nelson talking about the Chief Justice’s death early on Tuesday afternoon, before the press release was issued.

You sent Mr. Fife to see if the Chief Justice was really dead.

Judge Black Third Round Clues:

You believe that the only way that Nelson could have known that the Chief Justice was dead prior to its being made public in the press release was if he was involved in the murder himself.

You were with Mr./Ms. Nelson at the time of the murder.

You know that Mr./Ms. Mult is devoted to Mr./Ms. Nelson and would do anything for him/her.

You believe that if there is a conspiracy to commit murder, the person who is behind it all (Mr./Ms. Nelson) should take responsibility.
 

Maid First Round Clues:

You worked for Chief Justice Jones (the man who was murdered).

You weren’t particularly unhappy that the Chief Justice was dead. You feared him and were tired of his abuse. He has struck you and threatened you in the past few months.

You know that Chief Justice Jones’s brother Sean Jones was always jealous of the Chief Justice’s position.

Recently, you heard Chief Justice Jones confront Judge Black about his involvement in a group conspiring to oust him from his office
.

Maid Second Round Clues:

You found your boss, the Chief Justice, lying in a pool of blood.

When you found him, you ran from the house to get help.

You know that Justice Black is often found at gambling halls, and you hear he got thrown out of own recently for making threats to the owner.

You have always heard that Mr./Ms. Nelson is honest.
 

Maid Third Round Clues:

You overheard the Chief Justice talking about the fact that Justice Black is having an affair on his wife.

You think that the Chief Justice worked late the night he was murdered and you think he may have been preparing to expose Justice Black.

You believe that Judge Black killed the Chief Justice so that he could have his seat and also to prevent Judge Jones from exposing and punishing Judge Black and his group.

Mr./Ms. Mult First Round Clues:

You are an average citizen.

You are a devoted friend of Mr./Ms. Nelson.

You know that there were a lot of bad feelings between Judge Black and Mr./Ms. Nelson.

The gossip around town is that Judge Black is furious with Mr./Ms. Nelson for a letter to the editor he recently wrote denouncing Judge Black and his corrupt group of friends.

You have a friend who is Judge Black’s gardener, and you know that when the Judge feel he has been crossed, he will stop at nothing to get revenge.

Mr./Ms. Mult Second Round Clues:

You were once part of Judge Black’s secret group, but you thought that the people involved were a bit too shady for your taste.

When you heard of the Chief Justice’s death, you hurried to the scene.

You found Mr./Ms. Fife lying unconscious next to the Chief Justice’s dead body when you entered his house. Fife was covered with the Chief Justice’s blood.

Mr./Ms. Mult Third Round Clues:

When you found Fife on the scene, you had him/her arrested and charged with murder.

You know Fife had access to the Chief Justice’s house and office.

You know that Mr./Ms. Fife would do anything Judge Black asked.

You believe that there is no other explanation for Fife’s presence at the murder scene than that he committed the crime.
 

Sean Jones First Round Clues:
 

NOTE: You are the murderer. You must do everything possible to divert attention from yourself. You may not lie about the details of your character, but you should never reveal that you were actually the one who stabbed your brother. Deny it to your last breath!

You are a powerful attorney in your state.

You are the brother of the murder victim, Chief Justice Jones, who you didn’t get along with all the time, but you loved and respected.

You know that your brother was very hard on his employees. In fact, he recently threatened to fire his maid if she didn’t work longer hours. You think your brother may even have struck her before.
 

Sean Jones Second Round Clues:

Mr./Ms. Mult used to be a friend of yours, and belong to the same club, but no too long ago, he started hanging out with Mr./Ms. Nelson.

You have always hated your brother. Everything seems to come easy to him. Just recently he refused to overturn a decision that denied you appointment to the high court. He owed you that one, too!

You didn’t hear about the murder until the police came to the door to notify you.

On Tuesday evening, you released a press release announcing that your brother the Chief Justice had been murdered and you wept for your dead brother at the press release.

Sean Jones Third Round Clues:

You heard Mr./Ms. Nelson saying that the Chief Justice was dead, even before the press release was issued.

You believe Nelson had to know about the murder before it happened, and therefore, that he was involved in the murder himself.

You think that the reason Mr./Ms. Mult just so “happened” to stumble across the murder so quickly was that he/she was involved.

You believe that Nelson could have hired Mr./Ms. Mult as a hit man to kill the Chief Justice, and that it was Mr./Ms. Mult who actually stabbed your brother.

Your firmly believe that whoever carries out a murder should take the primary blame for the murder.
 

Mr./Ms. Fife’s First Round Clues:

You were an aid to both Chief Justice Jones (the dead man) and Judge Black.

You didn’t particularly like either one, because they often made unfair decisions, always made you work late, and often only gave you your paycheck after you threatened to quit.

You had access to the homes and offices of both Chief Justice Jones and Judge Black.

You saw Mr./Ms. Mult eavesdropping on an argument between Mr./Ms. Nelson and Judge Black.

You believe that Mr./Ms. Mult would do anything to help his friend Mr./Ms. Nelson.

Mr./Ms. Fife’s Second Round Clues:

You’ve heard Mr./Ms. Nelson is a bit crazy.

You were with Judge Black and heard Mr./Ms. Nelson talking about the Chief Justice’s death, even before the press conference. Judge Black sent you to investigate the situation.

When you approached the Chief Justice’s house on the afternoon of the murder, you said the maid run out screaming, “The Judge has been murdered!”

Mr./Ms. Fife’s Third Round Clues:

When you saw all of the blood, you passed out.

You know that the Chief Justice had been very heavy handed with his maid, especially after she spurned his advances.

When you got to the body, the blood was still fresh. The only person who could possibly have murdered the Chief Judge was the Maid. She must have run away screaming that he had been murdered in order to drive suspicion from herself.