“Eliminate all other factors, and the one that remains must be the truth.” – Sherlock Holmes
Inspector Galois was stumped. He had yet to solve his most recent case, the murder of the wealthy Oil Magnate Phil M. Mupp. There were five suspects in the murder, all of whom seemed to have an airtight alibi. The famous thoroughbred jockey, Horace Racer, was racing at Saratoga. The world famous physician, Karen Rejab, was at her health clinic in Africa. The popular DJ, Mike Refone, was hosting a 24 hour dance marathon in Los Angeles. The real estate mogul, Iva Lott, was closing on properties she recently purchased in Russia. The world famous explorer, Ben Therenbak, was mountain climbing in South America. All had numerous witnesses that eagerly corroborated their whereabouts.
While reviewing the evidence once again, there was a knock at the inspector’s office door. Without looking up, the inspector responded “Come in”. The door opened and entered Junior Inspector Abel. “It’s just the mail sir, only a single letter for you today.” said Abel as he handed the envelope to Galois. Galois took the letter and examined it curiously. It was addressed to Galois, Inspector of Police. Additionally, on the front of the envelope, at the bottom, was neatly printed “Correctly fill in each circle using only the numbers 1 through 5 – Good Luck”. The inspector curiously opened the envelope and removed a single sheet of paper. He unfolded the paper and examined it. Within seconds, he refolded it, looked at Junior Inspector Abel and said “The case is solved. I know the murderer”. The suspect was apprehended and within days the Inspector was proven to be correct. He did indeed know the murderer. What was on the sheet of paper? Look for yourself, it’s replicated below. Can you too solve the case and determine the murderer?
This is an original self-referential puzzle. To solve the case, complete the puzzle by entering a number (1,2,3,4 or 5) in each circle that correctly matches the clue. The number in the gray circle will be the murderer. Remember the nature of self-referential puzzles, when one number is changed, it will likely effect other numbers. Good Luck and please pass this puzzle and others onto others who may enjoy them! Also, feel free to select the Facebook Like button below.
