Two thieves have being working together for years. Nobody knows their identities, but one is known to be a Liar and the other a Knave. The local sheriff gets a tip that the bandits are about to commit another crime. When the sheriff arrives at the seen of the crime, he finds three men, A, B, and C. C has been stabbed with a dagger. He cries out, “A stabbed me” before anybody can say anything else; then, he falls down dead from the stabbing.

Not sure which of the three men are the crooks, the sheriff takes the two suspects to the jail and interrogates them. He gets the following information.

A’s statements:
1. B is one of the crooks.
2. B’s second statement is true.
3. C was telling the truth.

B’s statements:
1. A killed the other guy.
2. C was killed by one of the thieves.
3. C’s next statement would have been a lie.

C’s statement:
1. A stabbed me.

The sheriff knows that the murderer is among these three people. Who should the sheriff arrest for killing C?

The easiest way to solve this is to go through the people and assume that they are liars.

Posted by Paddy on 2006-01-09 08:16:17