Solution to Grand Quiz Question #9

The Question was:

Year was 1963. 4 youngsters had booked some rooms in a hotel. The group consisted of 2 girls : Nancy and Drew and 2 boys : Jim and Alfred. During their stay in the hotel, one of them was murdered.
When the police asked, the hotel staff said they knew very less about the incident.
From what little information that was gathered, here's what the police felt important:
1. Nancy's brother screamed at Jim's wife once after the murder happened.
2. Drew's brother shouted twice at the victim's spouse after the murder.
This information was sufficient for the police to determine who was murdered.
Can you find who among them died that day?

Let's put it in a tabular format –


[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 2"]For Statement 1.
[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 2"]For Statement 2.
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cases
[/TD]
[TD]Nancy’s Brother
[/TD]
[TD]Jim’s Wife
[/TD]
[TD]Drew’s Brother
[/TD]
[TD]Victim’s Spouse
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Case 1.
[/TD]
[TD]Jim
[/TD]
[TD]Drew
[/TD]
[TD]Alfred
[/TD]
[TD]?
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Case 2a.
[/TD]
[TD]Alfred
[/TD]
[TD]Nancy
[/TD]
[TD]Jim
[/TD]
[TD]?
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Case 2b.
[/TD]
[TD]Alfred
[/TD]
[TD]Nancy
[/TD]
[TD]Alfred
[/TD]
[TD]?
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Case 2c.
[/TD]
[TD]Alfred
[/TD]
[TD]Drew
[/TD]
[TD]Alfred
[/TD]
[TD]?
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


Solution

In Case 1:
Nancy must be the victim. Then victim’s spouse can only be Alfred.
This is impossible. Hence Case 1 is eliminated.

In Case 2b:
Either Drew or Jim must be the victim.
If Drew is the victim, then Drew cannot have a spouse. This contradicts statement 2.
If Jim is the victim, then Alfred & Nancy screamed only once …From 1.
And twice …From 2.
This is impossible.
So case 2b is eliminated.

In Case 2c:
Either Nancy or Jim must be the victim. If Nancy is the victim, then Nancy cannot have a spouse. This contradicts statement 2.
If Jim is the victim, then Alfred & Drew shouted exactly once …From 1.
And twice …From 2.
This is impossible.
So case 2c is eliminated.

So, from Case 2a,
Drew must be the victim. Drew’s spouse can only be Alfred.

Answer: Drew died that day.