Isaac Cymbalisty

General

• Deceased: 14-JAN-06

• Aged 52 at the time of his death.
• Was Head Librarian at the Academy Library
• An expert in the care of ancient documents.
• Had what could be described as an addiction to Ceretin.
• Old friends with Anna Heath.
• Described as "isolated" and "a bit of a loner".
• Left behind no immediate family.

• Assisted Violet in gaining access to Anthony Granier's diary.
• Was found dead in his home just before the final page of the diary was accessed.
  • Authorities are assuming this is suicide - suicide note, doors and windows were locked from the inside and there is no evidence of anyone else being present.
  • There is speculation that the causes of his death are more sinister than this - Anna found a to-do list on his desk for the Monday following his death. Why would he plan out the week following his suicide?

• Former Address:

Apartment C

Mimasan Block

Guardian Lane

Perplex City

And no matter what the inquest says, he would never have contemplated suicide. Everything about it rings false to me. He was a stubborn man, and once said that suicide was like throwing away a book when you hadn't read the end. How can you resist seeing how it turns out, even if it is a tragedy? And Isaac's life was no tragedy! -close friend Anna Heath

Timeline of Death

This is the official timeline of events according to the PXCPD.

• 10am, Friday 13th January is the earliest point at which Isaac could have been poisoned, assuming the time of death estimate reported by the attending police officer is accurate.
• 11.50am is the earliest time he could have been poisioned, going by the TOD given by Isaac's key.
• Miranda leaves the library early, around 5pm, to meet Kurt at Grand Frederik's train station and go on holiday for the weekend "up north." This is substantiated by Kurt's [blog post].
• Just after 6pm, Isaac and Jason left the Library. (According to Jason and Violet.)
• Jason then claims they crossed the Mazy River and walked along Resolution. Cymbalisty then turned off up Scholar's Lane, at around 6.15pm - the last time he was seen alive. Jason continues home, we think, to 19a Ordinal Road.
• Violet leaves the library at around 6.15pm and heads home to Apartment 507, Caesar Building, Mobius Approach.
• Violet and Jason meet for coffee at Fenlon's at 7.30pm
• Given that Ceretin was found in his coffee cup at home, it is likely that Isaac was poisoned in his apartment. The locked door and absence of signs of a struggle indicates that:
  • At some point between 6.15pm and 8pm, Isaac let someone into his apartment.
  • They had coffee together, but the visitor had spiked his coffee with a massive dose of black market Ceretin.
  • Therefore, it's likely the murderer was someone Isaac Cymbalisty knew quite well.
  • Judging from his lack of trousers, possibly very well. However, Isaac was not known to have very many friends apart from Anna Heath. On the other hand, this would explain his "excitement" to get home.
• Isaac had to have taken the overdose by 8pm at the latest. (ETOD: 10am - 12noon the following day, autopsy says time until fatal brain damage from initiation was 16 - 24 hours.)
• It seems likely that he must have quickly slipped into a long period of unconsciousness/coma, in order to give the murderer (and possible accomplices) time to clean up. It would also explain his empty stomach - i.e: he didn't have time to eat that evening before passing out.
• Saturday, 14th January. Between 10am and midday, Isaac dies.
• According to the anatomical report, his key says the TOD was 11.50am.
• Isaac is found dead from a massive Ceretin overdose in his apartment at 12.20pm, slumped in his chair.
• Isaac's post-mortem is carried out on Monday 16th January.

Discrepancies

However, some investigation reveals possible discrepancies between the official version of events and some of the findings from the autopsy.

• The liver damage reported in the autopsy - some people think this indicates that he'd already been dead for 12 - 16 hours when found. The explanatory theory is that he never showed up for work on Friday, but instead there was an imposter in his place. Jason & Miranda are lying, and Violet never really spoke to him. This also conflicts with the Time of Death on his key, which would have required hacking to circumvent.
  • Others theorise that Isaac was indeed suffering from sort of disease affecting his liver prior to his death, explaning the discoloration etc.
• It's been suggested that the coffee cup with Ceretin in may have been planted there as a decoy away from the real circumstances of his death, and Isaac was instead dosed prior to getting back to his apartment...
  • Or that he was killed using a neurosuppressant or other brain-targeting poison. We know from the death of Fran Mendling that these methods help to obscure the time of death, meaning he may have died straight away (rather than lapsing into coma) while his key wasn't triggered for some time.

Suspects

• Violet is generally considered to be above suspicion. :o)
• Miranda is the complete opposite. She speaks very affectionately of Cymbalisty in her interview with the police, which is suspicious as Violet describes him as "loathsome" and "slimy." We know Cymbalisty had a bit of a thing for her, too, and was upping his Ceretin intake to be as witty as possible as a result. However, she has a perfect alibi from (shortly after) 5pm onwards, thanks to Kurt. We know she's an excellent runner though, so she might have been able to leg it in a remarkably short space of time.
• Jason is also rather suspicious. He was the last person, by his own admission, to see Cymbalisty alive. He doesn't have a particularly good alibi until he goes to meet Violet at Fenlon's around 7.30, which would have given him enough time to have done the deed. He's also got an "interest" in the Anthony Granier diaries. On the other hand, he doesn't hype up the suicide theory to the police, as you might expect him to if he was responsible for the murder.
• The discrepancies in the time of death / autopsy reports may suggest that elements within the police are corrupt and acting to cover up the truth about Isaac's death.
• We don't really have much of a motive apart from the last page of the Granier diary. The authorities returned it (or at least, a document like it) to Anna Heath under her authority as a fellow at the Academy (link, see 13th Mar 2006 entry). She has locked it in Isaac's former office in the library where it languishes, despite our efforts to persuade Violet to get it.

Police Records

Official Documents

• Filed by Dr. Malcolm Y. Prenderghast

• Anatomical Report

Text here: http://www.perplexcitypolice.com/pd269volintranet/case_file.php?cid=PXC978C675&section=anatomical

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• Communications Report

Text here: http://www.perplexcitypolice.com/pd269volintranet/case_file.php?cid=PXC978C675&section=communications

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• Forensic Report

Text here: http://www.perplexcitypolice.com/pd269volintranet/case_file.php?cid=PXC978C675&section=forensic

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• Toxicology Report

Text here: http://www.perplexcitypolice.com/pd269volintranet/case_file.php?cid=PXC978C675&section=toxicology

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Witness Interviews

Collected text here: http://www.perplexcitypolice.com/pd269volintranet/case_file.php?cid=PXC978C675&section=witness

• Heidi Campa

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• Anna Heath

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• Miranda Katsoulis

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• Sente Kiteway

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• Violet Kiteway

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• Jason Mariem

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Enquiry

Judicial Case no. PXC978C675 (Cymbalisty, Isaac) Herewith are the summary findings of Public Enquiry PXC978C675/W, incorporating Public Inquest PXC978C675/W/I. Judge Erik Hornblair presiding. 1. In his findings, Judge Hornblair concluded that in the case of Isaac Cymbalisty, of Apartment C, Mimasan Block, Guardian Lane, Perplex City, there was no evidence of criminal death. 2. Judge Hornblair was sufficiently swayed by the balance of evidence that Mr Cymbalisty took his own life, knowingly consuming an overdose of black-market Ceretin. This produced a synaptic overload which led to a rapid loss of consciousness and, thereafter, a complete cessation of cerebral activity. 3. The scene of crime evidence showed no indication whatsoever that anyone else had been present, either at the time of death or within the previous few days. Fingerprint, footprint and genetic investigations all confirmed this conclusion. 4. All analyses of Mr Cymbalisty's key found evidence consistent with the estimated time of death, and their was no indication of forgery regarding his suicide note. 5. At the inquest, all anatomical evidence pointed towards Ceretin overdose as the cause of death. There was no sign of physical contact or coercion. The toxicology report also supported the enquiry's conclusion, finding large quantities of Ceretin or Ceretin derivative in Mr Cymbalisty's system. 6. In interviews with Mr Cymbalisty's neighbours and colleagues, the investigation found no substantive facts to contradict the enquiry's conclusion. The reason for Mr Cymbalisty's suicide remains subject to conjecture. However, it was the enquiry's decision that Mr Cymbalisty's state of mind was not material evidence and therefore had no bearing on the case. There were no suspects. 7. In the absence of evidence indicating criminal death, Judge Hornblair declared the investigation closed. 8. The body has been released. Released: 02/03/269

References

• Quirky Acuity, Violet Kiteway's blog
  • blog, 27-MAY-05 "I'm in!" (link)
  • blog, 06-JUL-05 "Blue day" (link)
  • blog, 29-NOV-05 "On writing a book" (link)
  • blog, 06-DEC-05 "Book Update" (link)
  • blog, 04-JAN-06 "Granier diaries, installment one" (link)
  • blog, 05-JAN-06 "Granier diaries, installment two" (link)
  • blog, 06-JAN-05 "Granier diaries, installment three" (link)
  • blog, 10-JAN-05 "Granier diaries, installment four" (link)
  • blog, 11-JAN-05 "Granier diaries, installment five" (link)
  • blog, 12-JAN-05 "Granier diaries, installment six" (link)
  • blog, 16-JAN-05 "Granier diaries, installment seven" (D'oh!)
  • blog, 16-JAN-06 "Some sad news" (link)

• The Perplex City Sentinel
  • more news in brief, 16-JAN-06 "Librarian Found Dead"

• The Perplex City Police Department
  • enquiry of death record: http://www.perplexcitypolice.com/enquiries/PXC978C675.html
  • internal files: http://www.perplexcitypolice.com/pd269volintranet/case_file.php?cid=PXC978C675&section=anatomical

• Anna Heath's Personal Site
  • My Writing, 02-MAR-06, "My relationship with Isaac" (link)
  • My Writing, 06-MAR-06, "Constant reminders" (link)