114 Murder Mystery Riddles To Test Your Deduction Skills

"My neighbors think I'm a nosy old woman, but today I witnessed a murder. I was looking out my window when I saw something through the window of the apartment building opposite me. A man was in the middle of murdering a woman. The strange thing was, after he finished strangling her, he turned around and our eyes met. It was eerie. Then he pointed at me and kept staring at me for a minute or two. All the time he was staring at me, his finger kept moving. I called the police a few minutes ago and they told me I will have to go down to the police station and give a statement tomorrow. I'm sure they will catch him. I saw his face very clearly. What do you think the murderer was waving his finger at?"

My name is Andy, and I will tell you a murderous tale. On Friday, a murder took place at 4:21 a.m. The morning was calm with light rain. The body of Samuel was found in the dining room, however the murder happened in the kitchen. When the police arrived they could not find out the cause of death. An autopsy was performed and ruled a natural death. Samuel was however poisoned by arsenic, an undetectable poison. His wife, 5'3 who leaves every night for work until 6 a.m, says she is sure that it was a suicide or suspects the butler. The butler happens to leave at 4 a.m everyday and returns at 6 p.m. The butler suspects the wife because she found pictures of her husband and another woman in her car. Who murdered the husband?

At the scene of a heinous crime, five suspects, one of whom is the guilty party, are being interrogated by a detective. Each of the suspects gives one statement and it later transpires that just three of these statements are correct. Uncle Jack: "Uncle Jim committed the murder." Aunt Mary: "I did not do it." Cousin Stewart: "It was not Cousin Margaret." Uncle Jim: "Uncle Jack is lying when he says I did it." Cousin Margaret: "Aunt Mary is telling the truth." Who committed the murder?

A man murders his wife with a knife in their car. Nobody is around to see this. He throws her out of the car being careful not to leave any fingerprints on her body. Next he throws the knife off of a cliff into a gorge where it will never be found and he goes home. An hour later the police call him and tell him that his wife has been murdered and he needs to come to the scene of the crime immediately. As soon as he arrives, he is arrested. How did they know he did it?

A couple reported a robbery. The husband told the policeman, that he thinks that the burglar presumably entered the house by breaking through the window, pointing to the broken window glasses on the outside of the house. The policeman noticed that the inside of the house only a few tiny pieces of window glass particles scattered around near the broken window area and told him that it was not a burglary and no outsider has entered his house through that window. What made the policeman so sure?

A guy was found dead in his study by his friend. The victim’s friend called the police. He told them that when he was walking by the victim’s place, he thought that he would pay him a visit. But as soon as he wiped the frost on the window to peep inside, he saw his body lying on the floor and therefore immediately called the police. The officer immediately arrested him for the murder of his friend. How did the officer know that he was lying?

A man told a story about how he was awarded a medal for bravery during World War 1. Why is this a lie?

A woman shoots her husband and then holds him underwater for 5 minutes. They then go out and enjoy a romantic dinner. How?

Jane was found in her house lying in the center of a pentagram. The police questioned three people they found in her recent calls. Jane’s brother: "I have called her in the morning. She was depressed because she had been fired." Jane’s Neighbor: "She borrowed a pretty sum of money from me and called to ask for more time." Jane’s Boss: "She didn’t show up to work for a few days. I have called her to ask if anything happened." Who is lying?

The body of a hunter named Adrian was discovered at the bottom of a cliff, beneath the site where his girlfriend's dead body was found. He was still fully clothed in cold-weather apparel befitting of the season, including hiking boots, mittens, several layered jackets, and thick trousers made of wool. A member of Adrian's hunting party named James was questioned, and he told the police that he had overheard Adrian having a heated argument with his girlfriend, Lulo. According to James, the argument became aggressive - Adrian picked up a rock and bashed Lulo over the head, killing her. After delivering the blow, Adrian looked up to see James watching him and was so startled that he turned and ran right off of the cliff to his demise. James pointed out the rock that he believed Adrian had used to hit Lulo, and it was sent in for forensic analysis. After testing it, the lab discovered that Adrian's fingerprints were indeed on the rock that supposedly killed Lulo. The police immediately arrested James for Adrian's murder. How did they conclude Adrian was slain and that James was the culprit when forensics seemed to corroborate James's story?

You intercepted this coded message sent by an enemy operative: YYURYYUBICURYY4ME. What message is he sending?

Agents Yellow, Red, and Green each have a green badge, a yellow badge, and a red badge, but none of them has a badge color that matches their name. They met when called to a conference at headquarters. The Agent with the Green badge said “I have a license to kill!” to which Agent Red replied sarcastically: “What, time?” What color is each Agent’s badge?

A lawyer argued for $1,000,000 damages based on the following claim: His client went to an art museum, where he saw a painting of Marie Antoinette on a guillotine. He fell asleep and dreamed of the painting. At the museum’s closing time, a guard tapped him on the neck just as he dreamed of the guillotine beheading Marie Antoinette. The tap provoked immediate cardiac arrest and a fatal heart attack immediately following because he associated the tap with the guillotine blade. The judge dismissed the case. Why?

The second apparition in "Macbeth", the bloody child, recommends 'Be bloody, bold and resolute, laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.' How was the Thane of Fife able to kill Macbeth in the light of this prophecy?

One winter day, there was a man standing in the middle of someone’s front yard. The person stayed there for several weeks without moving and the owner of the yard didn’t mind. Eventually the man left. Who was he?

A man is found murdered on a Sunday morning. His wife calls the police, who question the wife and the staff, and are given the following alibis. The wife says she was sleeping. The butler said he was cleaning the closet. The gardener was declared he was picking vegetables. The maid explained she was getting the mail. The cook said she was preparing breakfast. Immediately, the police arrest the murdered. Who did it and how did the police know?

A couple went on for a climbing trip. When only the husband returned from the vacation, he said that his wife slipped off a cliff while climbing and died. On investigating, the local sheriff arrested him saying, “Your travel agent called. The information we received makes us aware you murdered your wife.” How did the agent deduce it was a murder?

A renowned chemist is found dead in his lab. There is no clear evidence except a piece of paper lying by the body. The paper is blank other than the name of five elements scrawled across it hastily: nickel, carbon, oxygen, lanthanum, sulfur. The guard reported that three people visited the chemist that day – his sister, Laura; his colleague, Nicolas; and his wife, Tessa. The criminal was arrested immediately. Who was it?

A crime has been committed on Main Street. The main suspect is a man named Simon Bates. It was said that a man had been walking along the pathway when he was suddenly shot in the stomach. The suspect had brown hair, blue eyes, and wore a baggy Armani just like Simon Bates’. Simon was asked to tell the story right from the beginning. “Well,” said Simon, “I was just hanging around the park when I saw this man walking along the pathway. Suddenly, a guy came up from behind him and shot him! I ran home as fast as I could. The policemen asked him to give a description of the murderer. “He had a red mustache, red hair, and a baggy Armani suit on.” “I think this man is telling a lie,” said one of the policemen. How did he know?

A man is stranded on forest-covered island. One day, when the wind is blowing from the west, lightning strikes the west end of the island and sets fire to the forest. The fire is very violent, burning everything in its path, and without intervention the fire will burn the whole island, killing the man in the process. There are cliffs around the island, so he cannot jump off. How can the man survive the fire without any buckets or any other means to put out the fire?