Mistaken for Murderer: Difference between revisions

A major character is somehow convinced that another major character is trying to kill him/her, or has already killed someone else, regardless of how long they have known the character.

 

 

Often the result of [[Better Manhandle the Murder Weapon]]. If the police think that the character is guilty but their friends stand by them, then it's [[Clear My Name]]. See also [[Guilt by Coincidence]]. Expect a [[Mistaken Confession]] if it's a comedy.

* Happens in ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'', with {{spoiler|Satoko believing that Keiichi murdered Rika in the climax of''Tatarigoroshi-hen'', after Keiichi, while Satoko is absent, finds Rika's body, drops the hatchet he's carrying into her blood in shock, ''[[What an Idiot!|picks the hatchet back up]]''...at which point Satoko returns. Also happens with Shion believing that the [[Yakuza|rest of the Sonozaki family]] is responsible for Satoshi's disappearance.}}

** {{spoiler|Keiichi himself believes that Rena and Mion are out to kill him in the first arc. They make threatening remarks, reference another student's similar behaviour before "transferring", creepily show up at his house at night, and even try to inject him with a drug implied to be the same one used to murder Tomitake. [[Batter Up|What happens afterwards]]... Of course, this was all in Keiichi's head, exacerbated by an extreme case of [[Hate Plague]]. The things said by Rena and Mion were all either misunderstood or [[Unreliable Narrator|made up entirely by Keiichi's decaying sanity]].}}

* In ''[[Gunnm]]'', Gally notices that Ido goes out at night and turns up in the morning with inexplicable injuries, all while a series of unsolved cyborg murders take place. Believing that he's the killer, she follows him and - upon seeing him attack a seemingly harmless woman - directly confronts him. Little does she know that the supposedlly innocent woman in question is actually a rogue mutant, as well as the ''actual'' murderer...

* Though they are no major characters, Kogoro Mouri of Detective Conan frequently accuses the wrong persons for the murders that happen.

 

== Fan Fiction ==

 

 

{{quote|'''Fay''': If I was going to kill you, I'd never poison you. I'd just tamper with the fuel gauge on the plane and let you sink like a stone somewhere over Nantuckett Sound. I'm only kidding... but I do know how.}}

* Ted and Melody on ''[[Hey, Dude!]]'' came back to the ranch after being sent home sick and discovered what they thought was an elaborate plot to murder Mr. Ernst. They had missed his announcement that he had written the play, which the other employees were rehearsing.

* The first episode of ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' (1951) was titled "Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her".

* On ''[[Newhart]]'', Dick is suspected of murdering Joanna after he writes a murder-mystery novel with characters based on himself and people he knows.

* It happened twice in Seinfeld. When Kramer moves to Los Angeles, there's a whole story arc based on the police there mistaking him for a serial killer. Also, there's one episode where a guy who owns Seinfeld money gets his toes broken by him (acidentally), ends up in the trunk of his car (acidentaly), and assumes from a conversation he hears between Jerry and Elaine that they're planning on killing a woman.

* P.J. and Gabe of ''[[Good Luck Charlie]]'' misinterpret their next door neighbor Mrs. Dabney's outburst at her soap operas, and her attempts to get rid of a bad smell and a large, heavy trunk as evidence that she murdered her husband.

* When Nikki breaks her leg at Prof. Oglevee's apartment on ''[[The Parkers]]'', she decides to convalesce there and becomes even more annoying. He gives her a pair of binoculars which she uses to spy on the neighbors. She sees a man strangling a woman and then sees him carrying a suspicious bundle out of his apartment. The killer sees her and decides to come after her. In the end, {{spoiler|it was all a set-up by the Professor with an actor friend of his to teach Nikki a lesson about spying}}.

* In one episode of ''[[My Family]]'', a patient of Ben's is under sedation in the dental chair and confesses to murdering his wife. Susan, who has recently developed an obsession with ''[[Inspector Morse]]'', appoints herself as detective and breaks into the man's house to find evidence. When she discovers his wife is still alive, Susan admits she knew it wasn't true but wanted it to be because of her love for TV crime dramas. The man turns out to have made it up because ''he'' is a huge fan of ''[[A Touch of Frost]]''.

* In ''[[Dead or Alive]] 2'', opera singer Helena is fully convinced that the [[Ninja]] Ayane is responsible for the murder of her mother. While Ayane neither confirms nor denies her involvement, {{spoiler|Christie}}, her real assassin, shows up in ''DOA 3'', and has {{spoiler|her}} sights set on Helena.

* In the Victorian London level in [[Wax Works]], the protagonist is mistaken for Jack the Ripper after being seen next to a dead harlot.The fact that the body he's using is that of Jack's twin brother doesn't help him much.

* Happens to your character in ''Light's Out'', the sequel to ''Dark Fall: The Journal''.

* In ''[[Tales of Monkey Island]] Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood'', {{spoiler|1=as Guybrush starts his "Feast for the Senses" quest, he sees De Singe exit his "laboratorium" in distress, indicating that something is going on in the lab. On entering, he finds the lab in a total mess, and Morgan lying on the floor, stabbed by her own Blade of Dragotta. Before she dies, she whispers her [[Dying Clue|last words as a warning]], unheard by the player and misheard by Guybrush, leading him to believe that De Singe killed her. When he later confronts De Singe before tossing [[MacGuffin|La Esponja Grande]] into the Wind Control Device while testing it, Guybrush can blame him for the atrocious act of murder, to which De Singe can imply that he didn't kill her by spouting out clues that can be helpful to the player but not to Guybrush ("Of course I ran out of my lab! There was [[Bloodless Carnage|blood all over the floor]] instead of being packed neatly in vials where it belongs!" and "Ooh, the Mighty Pirate™ thinks I murdered his friend! However will I live with the shame?"). It is not until both De Singe and Guybrush are killed (the former by the latter, the latter by LeChuck) or until Guybrush meets up with Morgan in the Crossroads that he realizes that the LeChuck who killed him is the same [[Big Bad]] who killed her during Guybrush's "criminal charge" trial as well. Oops.}}

 

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'', "Ed's Dead": Rocko witnesses the apparent murder of his neighbor Ed Bighead by his wife Bev and starts swearing that he's next.

* Brendon mistakenly believes his neighbor is a murderer in ''[[Home Movies]]'' in another ''Rear Window'' knock-off.