perplexus.info :: Logic : Murderer is one of the Five

Murderer is one of the Five (Posted on 2024-06-29)

There are five people. One of them shot and killed one of the other five. Which man is the murderer?

1. Don ran in the NY City marathon yesterday with one of the innocent men.
2. Mack considered being a farmer before he moved to the city.
3. Jonah is a topnotch computer consultant and wants to install Ben's new computer next week.
4. The murderer had his leg amputated last month.
5. Brad met Jonah for the first time six months ago.
6. Jonah has been in seclusion since the crime.
7. Don used to drink heavily.
8. Brad and Jonah built their last computers together.
9. The murderer is Jonah's brother. They grew up together in Seattle.

No Solution Yet Submitted by K Sengupta

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belated potential solution

Comment 2 of 2 |

If the murderer is Jonah's brother, then it's not Jonah.

If the murderer had a leg amputated last month, it's not Don, who ran the NYC marathon yesterday. (While amputees can in theory run marathons, not so soon after their amputation!)

Brad first met Jonah 6 months ago, so isn't his brother (with whom Jonah grew up) and so isn't the murderer.

Mack's desire to be a farmer before moving to the city means he's not Jonah's brother, who grew up in a city to begin with.

That leaves only Ben. Jonah simultaneously being in seclusion and wanting to install Ben's computer next week also makes more sense if they're brothers (and indeed may be in seclusion together!)

Posted by Paul on 2025-01-01 16:26:37

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