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astra-galaxie · 6 months

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"I'll go see if the Holloway-Woolf Press has my package! Thank you so much for your help! Can I offer you some chocolates as thanks?" - Reese Rochester

Biographical information

Full Name: Reese Rochester

Gender: Non-binary

Sexuality: Pansexual

Status: Alive

Age: 27 (season 3)

Birth: 1989

Race: Human

Nationality: American

Origin: Concordia, USA

Residence: Concordia, USA

Profession(s):

CEO of Rochester Chocolates

Chocolatier

Family:

Rockley Rochester (great-great-grandfather) (deceased)*

Leopold Rochester (great-great-great-grandfather) (deceased)*

Larry Rochester (great-great-granduncle) (deceased)*

Horatio Rochester (great-great-great-granduncle) (deceased)*

Patricia Rochester (great-great-great-grandaunt) (deceased)*

Archie Rochester (ancestor) (deceased)* **

Veronica Rochester (ancestor) (deceased)* **

Clarissa Rochester (ancestor) (deceased)* **

Bernadine Rochester (ancestor) (deceased)* **

Malcolm Rochester (ancestor) (deceased)* **

Viola Pemberton (ancestor) (deceased)* **

Monty Rochester (ancestor) (deceased)

* Deceased post Mysteries of The Past timeline

** I couldn't figure out how Reese would be related to Rockley's cousin, so I just listed them as ancestors

Partner(s): Andrew Bontemps (boyfriend) (deceased)

Affiliation(s): Rochester Chocolates

Profile

Height: 5'4"

Age: 27 (season 3)

Weight: 140lbs

Eyes: brown

Blood: O+

Reese is a chocolatier with rich, caramel skin, a head of bouncy short brown curls, and matching brown eyes. They wear colourful clothes consisting of a pink corset-like shirt, a purple sleeveless jacket, fitted black pants, tall teal boots and a small matching top hat attached to a headband. They also wear red lipstick, a silver charm bracelet of different types of candies and a choker with a silver chocolate-shaped pendant.

As per their suspect appearance in Murder From The Past, it is known that Reeses has read The Concordia Flying Squad: History of Justice, visits the opera and drinks wine.

Synopsis

Reese is a chocolatier and the CEO of Rochester Chocolates. They appeared as a suspect in Murder From The Past.

They grew up in Concordia and love their city with a passion. They always had an interest in learning Concordia's history and their family's legacy within it. And while they knew that some of their family members left behind better legacies than others, Reese is proud to be a descendant of Rockley Rochester.

From the moment they learned about their chocolate-obsessed ancestor, Reese knew they wanted to follow in his footsteps. They committed to learning everything they could about chocolate and candy making. They quickly discovered they had a natural gift for creating sweets, and it was no surprise to anyone when Reese set their sights on becoming the CEO of Rochester Chocolates one day.

When Reese went to university, they studied business while practicing their chocolate-making on the side. They were famous on campus for making the best chocolates and candles, and students would hire Reese to cater and make custom treats for events. With every order they fulfilled, Reese became more sure of their dream of ruining the chocolate factory.

After graduating from university and returning to Concordia, Reese began working at Rochester Chocolates. They started in a lower position as they wanted to start from the ground and work their way to the top. Eventually, they earned a management position and began gaining more authority in the company. The goal of becoming CEO was getting closer every day, and Reese couldn't wait to call themselves the boss.

In their personal life, Reese decided to try dating. But real-life dates never seemed to work out for them. People would learn their surname and immediately think they were a stuck-up snob or would try to take advantage of their wealth and influence in Concordia. After failed date after failed date, Reese was ready to give up on love. But before calling it quits, they decided to try online dating and see if they could find someone who would love them regardless of their famous family.

It was through online dating that they met Andrew Bontemps. The two began chatting through the dating app and talked about everything they had in common. They both liked Concordian history, chocolate, watching plays and other hobbies. Reese was nervous to tell Andrew their family name, especially after he revealed that he was a descendant of Issac Bontemps, but Andrew didn't care if Reese was a Rochester or not. He fell in love with their personality, sense of humour and desire to make people happy with their chocolates. So what if their last name was Rochester? Andrew loved Reese for Reese.

The couple kept in touch online, and Reese was pleasantly surprised when Andrew told them he was moving to Concordia. His transfer to the Concordia Police Department had been accepted, and he was going to become a detective just like his ancestor Issac. Reese was there to welcome Andrew to the city, and the couple celebrated by going on their first in-person date.

After spending so much time talking to him online, Reese was so happy to have Andrew living in Concordia. And life got even sweeter when Reese was promoted to CEO of Rochester Chocolates. Of course, they would need to spend time working underneath the current CEO before assuming the position, but they could handle that to achieve their dream.

And as life continued getting better and better, Reese decided they wanted to make theirs and Andrew's lives one by proposing to him. They got a beautiful ring and started planning the perfect day to lead to the proposal. But sadly, the surprise was ruined when Andrew discovered the ring and told Reese he wasn't ready to get married yet. Reese respected his decision and put the proposal plans on hold, promising to wait until they were both ready to pop the question.

But the question would never get to be asked. Andrew was killed because his killer held a stupid grudge against him and his family for something that happened during the age of The Flying Squad. Reese was furious that someone would kill Andrew because of something his ancestor did. He was so sweet, and Reese knew he would have done great things in life if he had the chance…

Even if Andrew were gone, his memory would live on through his work. The Concordia Flying Squad Preservation Society dedicated part of The Flying Squad Museum in his memory. Not only will people learn about the work The Flying Squad did to protect Concordia, but they will also learn about the man who helped preserve their legacy. Reese plans to be at the front of the crowd for the grand opening and will have countless sweets for people to enjoy, just like Andrew envisioned.

Story Information

First appeared: Murder From The Past

Trivia

They were inspired by my gremlin children, MyFaceHasNumbers (Ticcory) and issy5316 (Wattpad)/Lizardkiller (Ao3). Specifically their obsession with chocolate

Like Rockley, their appearance is based on Willy Wonka

Their favourite treat is chocolate with peanut butter

They're a huge fan of Hazan Tilki's chocolate sculptures

Their necklace was a gift from Andrew. It has their initials engraved on the wrapper

Disclaimer: Character design was created using Rinmarugames Mega Anime Avatar Creator! I have only made minor edits to the design! Background courtesy of CriminalArtist5

Links to my stories:

The Case of the Criminal (Ao3/Wattpad) Killer Bay (Ao3/Wattpad) Where in the World are the Killers? (Ao3/Wattpad)

#criminal case #astra's ocs #my ocs #criminal case save the world #rockley rochester

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screechingcheesecakecheesecake · 8 months

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MoTP talk:

SPOILER ALERT AGAIN

I love to talk about my interests as you can see

What I really love the most about MoTP, it really felt like we were going around the city. The lack of intense apocalypse themed (love ya pacific bay but i feel like the tone of the last arcs where kinda off and too wild lmao) and just grounding themselves with the concept a specialized squad flying around the city.

Everything are so tied in together. The previous games deaths kinda felt like me going "Ahh this guy is the killer def, ahh, this person is gonna get killed soon aren't they" which doesn't really feel all intense lmao. But with how MoTP loved calling back as much characters as they can, we get to know them more and see how their lives and actions change as the tone of the story changes. (CRIES IN GLADYS, ADELLIA, AND GIULETTA)

Also because of it, we kinda see more characters more fleshed out than the usual we get from CC games?

ALSO THIS GAME GENUINELY HAD ME CLENCHING ON WHO ARE GONNA DIE OR WHO IS THE KILLER. ESPECIALLY THE KILLERS. THE DETAILS ARE SO SUBTLE IN IT THAT I ACTUALLY HAVE TO DEDUCT POSSIBLE MOTIVES. IT WAS VERY ENGAGING.

The main themes of the story were pretty down to earth: corruption, power play, justice.

It was so down to earth that it was really easy to empathize with a lot of the killers, especially the vigilante ones.

Also kudos to Archie and Horatio. You were truly shitty people but very intelligent and manipulative ones. Being able to craft plans for their goals while leaving themselves out from suspicions unless we do intense digging was very smart. Heck, Horatio literally crafted a plan so fucking careful we took like 80% of the game to catch him. He's shitty but he's SMART. And he was able to get away from it for DECADES.

Like Horatio is honestly insane man caused so much indirect deaths??? Like dude??

Also, I remember Justin Lawson before saying that he believed that the Rochesters should all be in jail. While, the way he went about it was very, not very good. In a way, the Rochesters who were engaging and not doing anything to stop Horatio while knowing his actions were also somewhat complicit of his crimes. So in a way, I understand Lawson's argument about that. And they knew the consequences of it if they babbled their mouths, we saw that with Leopold (sigh).

(Also Lawson, a lawyer, becoming a dictator removing freedom of press and the likes. I was a bit like, was one of the writers from PH or something, why is this hitting a bit too home.)

#criminal case #criminal case mysteries of the past

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lucero-is-here · 11 months

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The camera shows Arthur Wright’s office. Arthur is no where to be seen. But you know who is there? Lucero.

Hello ladies, gentlemen and folks! It’s headcanon time. And we have the dandy man himself, Arthur Wright.

Requested by:

Now let’s get to this dandy man

- he tried to fight Horatio. I mean, Arthur already has beef with Horatio and some of the Rochesters except for Bernadine, Rockley, Veronica, Clarrisa, Patricia and Leopold. Yeah but learning that Horatio was gonna send Bernadine to Gryphon’s Sanctuary pissed him off so bad he was ready to hit Horstio with a chair. And it was one of those really fancy looking chairs too.

- he has good spice tolerance somehow. He can somehow take the spice and is okay with it.

- Bernadine has forced him into a dress at least once, change my mind.

- He wore heels once and proceeded to fall down without even moving.

- he wears loafers. Brown loafers.

- he has come close to punching most of the Rochesters in the face. Malcolm? Had to hold back the extreme urge to punch him. Larry was the same. Let’s not get started on Archie. HORATIO? WELL HE HAD TO BE HELD BACK BY ROSE AND RICHARD AT ONE POINT OF TIME-

- Arthur’s family is like…Filthy rich- they are really rich- that’s all I can say.

- he has parent issues. His parents were more interested in making more money than spending time with him- which was bad for him to say the least.

- he’s an only child. He doesn’t have siblings-

- he has a ranking for how much he hates the Rochesters from most to least. Bernadine and others won’t be included in this list for very obvious reasons. The lost starts: Horatio, Malcolm, Larry, and Archie.

The rest that aren’t included are either okay or Arthur had no beef with them and didn’t know them so well.

- Arthur likes dogs- he has a pet dog- and it’s so funny when he brings the dog on the walk and the dog doesn’t want to go home and Arthur is just dragging a dog home with so much difficulty-

- beef with Lawson. I don’t even need to say why he just has really bad beef with Lawson. He just saw how Lawson became after becoming Mayor and went: Yeah time to add him to list of people I have beef with…AGGRESSIVE SCRIBBLING ON A LIST WITH AT LEAST 9 PEOPLE ON IT WHICH ISN’T A LOT-

- he gets pranked by Rose and Richard- he got lifted up by Rose and panicked so much- And Rose just had him in the air for like 2 hours and he just had the expression saying, “this is my life now,”

- he can play like…Three instruments, one of which he stopped playing. Those three instruments are the violin, cello and piano. He gave up on cello.

- he literally fought Malcolm once. It was a physical fight too. After he found that Malcolm was…abusive he just got out his office, went to Malcolm, and punched Malcolm in the face. Bernadine had to separate the both of them to keep Arthur from murdering Malcolm. Arthur was that angry to know Malcolm was like that, and was pretty much ready to get blood on his hands.

- he likes kids- kids like him too. As I headcanon him and Bernadine have a daughter in the future, he’s a really good dad- he takes care of the kid, gives her hugs and doesn’t neglect her. He lets her goes to work with him where when he gets free time he teachers her random things and say what he does as Chief of the flying squad. And she just tells him she wants to be Chief of the flying squad too. And he says: one day. One day.

- he’s terrified of bugs- he can’t stand them. He’s either instantly killing them or crying about them. Usually the first but he cries about them when it’s a spider or a cockroach. He saw a giant spider once and he screamed so much-

- SNAKES ARE HIS ENEMY- HE HATES SNAKES- I mean he can kind of stand them but touch them? HELL NO-

- he has learnt about what dolphins do sometimes and is forever traumatised about them.

- he gets maximum 6 hours of sleep.

Okay that’ll all for the dandy man though most of the headcanons I wrote are wildin- but I might make a part 2-

#criminal case #headcanons #Arthur Wright

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miswitched · 11 months

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Books Regina Mills would read:

1. Crime and Punishment, she understands the madness of it all too well. She relates to the ideas of guilt and anger and impulsivity, having toyed with those feelings more than ever in her early days of being the evil queen.

2. All the Bronte novels- gothic novels have her heart and basically everything the Brontes wrote made her feel a little bit less alone in her marriage to the king. 'Wuthering Heights' appealed to her greatly, especially when Heathcliffe dug up Catherines grave, and how Heathcliffe gradually turned into a monster. She also loved 'Jane Eyre', having felt understood when she read about Jane and Mrs Reed, and relating to Rochester trying to keep his secret wife in the attic in the sense that she kept a version of herself secret.

3. Pride and Prejudice, you just know she loved the drama of it and being able to see at least one person have a happy ending, even if she’ll never admit it. She thought her own life may have gone this way, until Daniel died. I imagine she was quite a big Jane Austen fan before all of the tragedy. Sometimes, even when she was the evil queen and the mayor of storybrooke, she'd reread it for those moments of lightness it brought her.

4. Lolita; trying to love someone and being taken advantage of; leopold being seen as a gentle king when he was not to her, not that it mattered to anyone; screaming, crying, having fits of anger and rage and still no one would listen to her; being too young for the situation she found herself in.

5. The haunting of hill house, she read this in her first few years of the curse and was enchanted by it, and when the series came out she went feral, loving the haunting feel to it.

6. The Secret History, the dark feeling appeals to her, and if her cursed memories of going to university were actually real, she easily could have seen herself going down the same route, of murdering one of her friends. She loved the expression of ancient language, it assured her that whilst the world was moving on, she was going to be okay.

7. Great Expectations, she understands Miss Havisham, and also relates to Pip over never being good enough and always being made fun of by her elders.

8. A streetcar named desire, because she relates to Blanche wayyy to much having once lived in a fanciful world with costume jewellery, and trying to convince herself that she was the evil queen and that by being the way she was, she could be happy.

9. The Bell jar, she loves reading dark books and as a result this one is her fave because she’s been there, she's had the same struggles. The raw youth of the book reminds her of when she was young. But the ending scared her, because no matter how good things look, they could always end up wrong.

#evil queen #regina mills #lana parrilla #ouat #once upon a time #emma swan #emma x regina #prince charming #david nolan #mary margaret blanchard #zelena mills #henry mills

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criminalcasejunkie · 1 year

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"If only my cousin Gertrude was here, she would've been very upset by your behavior Team Coordinator Amy~"

Full Name: Alessia Rochester Wright

Alias: Princess Charming, أخت (translation: Sister) Jessica Rabit

Age: 28

Gender: Female

Relatives:

Gertrude Wright (cousin)

Unnamed Parents

Arthur Wright (great-grandfather)

Bernadine Rochester (great-grandmother)

Viola Pemberton (4th cousin)

Rockley Rochester (4th cousin)

Archie Rochester (1st cousin)

Leopold Rochester (great-granduncle)

Veronica Rochester (great-aunt-in-law)

Horatio Rochester (great-granduncle)

Clarissa Rochester (4th cousin)

Larry Rochester (4th cousin)

Patricia Rochester: (great-grandaunt)

Malcolm Rochester (Grand-uncle)

1st Appearance: Travel in Time: Case #1

Last appearance: Travel in Time: Case #31

Friends:

Jack Archer

Amy Young

(T.I.M.E in general)

Alessia Rochester Wright is a member of T.I.M.E, and one of the main protagonists of Criminal Case: Travel in Time.

Profile

Alessia is Gertrude's 1st cousin and great-granddaughter of the Arthur Wright and Bernadine Rochester She has a light skin tone and has caramel brown hair that is long and wavy with one part to the side and the other to the back. Her attire consists of a sheriff's outfit. A Blue shirt with black buttons and pouches with gold buttons on the, and shoulder pads with small silver stars on the ends, with dark blue pants and black heels.

As a suspect, she's interested in history, is allergic to cats, and owns a pet hamster.

Personality

During her work at T.I.ME, Jack described Alessia to be "too flirty for the job", since Alessia would flirt with Jack on a daily basis. (Note: Alessia flirts with Jack as a joke, she knows that she's younger than him and isn't stupid to realize that.) Other than just flirting with guys and just sounding seductive, Alessia is in reality a very optimistic lady and jumps like a child when traveling in time, she's also very understanding with relationships like how she help Penelope say goodbye to Alexandre in Case #13. Like Gertrude, Alessia has a soft spot for children like how she comforted Cengiz when Zephora was injured in her cage. Alessia knows when to get serious and gets upset easily, and unlike some people, she won't forgive the person that betrays her, like how she didn't forgive Nebet for what she did in cases #20-31. It's revealed that in the end of season 6, she resigned from T.I.M.E and went back home to Paris to live with her family.

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nomnomdiary · 8 months

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Other Criminal Case MOTP characters in Realistic

Made using Bing AI images

Archie Rochester

Justin Lawson

Bernadine Rochester

Fiona Flanagan

Seamus O'Neill

Giulietta Cappechi

Katherine Woolf

Lady Highmore

Talmadge Baldwin

Leopold Rochester

#criminal case mysteries of the past #criminal case #criminal case game #criminal case motp #Archie Rochester #Justin Lawson #Bernadine Rochester #Fiona Flanagan #Seamus O'Neill #giulietta capecchi #Katherine Woolf #Lady Highmore #Talmadge Baldwin #Leopold Rochester

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asharkapologist · 6 months

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Criminal Case Headcanon #1

After Leopold Rochester discovered that Sandra was murdered because she stood up for and defended him, he attended her funeral out of respect, where he comforted Steven as much as he could.

Tagging you @blenderscientist be sad hehehe (and ty for the photos)

#criminal case facebook #criminal case #criminal case game #criminal case mysteries of the past #mysteries of the past #rochesters #leopold rochester #sandra hwang #steven hwang #criminal case motp

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goalhofer · 3 months

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Where every player played during the 2012-13 NHL lockout: Buffalo

EHL: Mike Weber (Lørenskog Ishockeyklubb) HockeyAllsvenskan: Jhonas Enroth (Huddinge I.K./Almtuna I.S.) KHL: Andrej Sekera (H.K. Slovan Bratislava) NCAA: Chad Ruhwedel (University Of Massachusetts, Lowell Riverhawks) NL: Tyler Ennis (S.C.L. Tiger) QMJHL: Mikhail Grigorenko (Quebec Remparts) EBEL: Tyler Myers (Klagenfurter A.S.C.) & Thomas Vanek (Moser Medical Graz 99ers) DEL: Christian Ehrhoff (Krefeld Pinguine), Jochen Hecht (Adler Mannheim), Jason Pominville (Adler Mannheim) & Alexander Sulzer (E.R.C. Ingolstadt) AHL: T.J. Brennan (Rochester Americans), Brian Flynn (Rochester Americans), Marcus Foligno (Rochester Americans), Cody Hodgson (Rochester Americans), Adam Pardy (Rochester Americans), Kevin Porter (Rochester Americans) & Mark Pysyk (Rochester Americans) Didn't Play: Matt Ellis, Nathan Gerbe, Patrick Kaleta, Ville Leino, Jordan Leopold, Cody McCormick, Ryan Miller, Steve Ott, Robyn Regehr, John Scott & Drew Stafford

#Sports #Hockey #Hockey Goalies #NHL #Buffalo Sabres #Norway #Sweden #Slovakia #Massachusetts #Switzerland #Canada #Quebec #Austria #Germany #AHL #Rochester Americans

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chelleinyy · 1 year

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Late Night Letters

-Leopold contemplates his family while writing letters to his sons

TW: mentions of @bu$3, family problems

It was already late. Leopold was awake even though it was late. At the moment, he was in his study, and his appearance was less formal than the formal attire he generally wears in public. His suit jacket was hung over the chair he was seated in, and his neckerchief was untied.

Leopold was waiting for his fiancée to return from the Swan Lake premiere. Minerva had said her goodbyes earlier that evening and promised to return late. For the time being, he was penning letters to his sons, Rockley and Larry, as he waited for her return. He had begun writing the letters hours before. However, due to his responsibilities, he had to set those aside. He was continuing them now as it had been a while since he had spoken to his sons.

Rockley was the bank's current head. Leopold had just appointed his eldest son as bank manager a few days before. He made the choice and made the arrangements for Rockley. His niece, Clarissa, had died unexpectedly, leaving the bank in disarray for some time. It wasn't until he understood that his son could improve Concordia's economy and restore the family's prestige that he realized.

Clarissa's demise was not the only reason he persuaded Rockley to accept the position. The chance was also a teaching moment for his son. When Leopold went to his son's factory, he found himself scolding Rockley. His son had been squandering his wealth, and he could not have been more unhappy.

The words he remembers distinctly coming out of his mouth were: "What were you thinking?! Have you not learned anything from your younger brother? Throwing your fortune about for pointless things is such a waste Rockley! Really, a year's income for a stamp?! It's utterly irresponsible! This ends now!" Leopold came to the conclusion that it was best to cut Rockley’s funds for a while.

Naturally, his son was dismayed by his father's interference. Rockley was reluctant to leave his factory, but Leopold couldn't let him continue to be careless with his business and its finances. He remembered the disagreement they had a few days before, with Rockley again and again pointing out, "Dad, I just don't think I'm cut out for the job of bank manager! An innovator like myself and a career like this simply don't mix. I’m not Clarissa!"

But Leopold was steadfast in his decision for his son. "I hoped you'd be more sensible than your brother, Rockley. I'm worried you'll go down the same path he did," Leopold had said. Rockley had sulked for days as a result of it. The photographs of him in the Concordian Gazette reflected his reactions.

"I shall be coming over to the bank to see on how you are currently running it," Leopold wrote at the end of his letter. “I am so proud of you for accepting this responsibility. "Wait for my arrival; I'll see you soon."

He set down his pen and picked up the letter, rereading it several times before sealing it in an envelope and addressing it to Rockley. Leopold will pay him a visit tomorrow. Hopefully, his son was just doing fine.

Yawning, he picked up the unfinished letter to his other son, Larry. Leopold's heart always went heavy when he thought of him. This time, that heaviness came again.

Oh, that terrible night, when his elation at being released quickly turned to terror. He couldn't accept the truth that his son, his son...became impertinent, self-centered, and murderous. A killer!

When he thought about Larry, all he could think of was his son in prison, most likely never regretting what he had done. And that horrible memory...Leopold never saw his son, but the news traumatized him. Sleeping for a long period of time was difficult because of it.

Leopold soothed himself by running his fingers through his hair. After a few seconds, readjusting his monocle, he resumed writing to his son with a heavy sigh and heart.

"I hope you are well. It has been quite some time since I last wrote to you. I just wanted to let you know that your brother has now taken the position that was once your late cousin's. I made an effort to try and see you, but Justin Lawson’s orders has forbidden me to speak to you.”

It was true. Leopold had been attempting to pay a visit to his son, whom he missed. However, Lawson made it clear to Chief Wright that no Rochester could speak to Larry.

Pausing for a moment to think, he returned to writing. In the letter, he wrote to Larry about what was going on in the family, how he disapproved of it, and tried to persuade him that his relatives' wild ambition would lead to their destruction. Eventually, Leopold had reached the conclusion of the letter.

“Allow this to be a tremendous lesson for you. I am shocked that we are all implicated in these scandals. I didn't want to get involved in the first place, yet here we are. I never wanted anyone in Concordia see our family as dishonest crooks. Our family is set to fall, and I am in fear that any of us could get harmed.”

Leopold's thoughts were an unintelligible muddle at this point. He was involved in so many matters. His rising dread that one of his loved ones may get into greater difficulty or, worse, be hurt. The Rochester name had become significantly tarnished as a result of the repulsive behaviors and decisions made by certain members of the family, and the shame of it all was awful. If only he could invent something that would put an end to all of this.

With Archie's attempts to woo Vittorio Capecchi's daughter, his recent discovery of Malcolm's decadence, Horatio's misdeeds, the plans for the Rochester Republic that Malcolm and Horatio devised, and one of his sons committing a horrid crime, this family was doomed. Leopold ended his letter with a deep sigh.

“Larry, wherever you are, I am still worrying about you and your older brother. Take responsibility for your words and actions. I'll write to you again soon."

Leopold put down his pen once again. He rubbed his eyes and removed his monocle. Unlike when he picked up his letter to Rockley in order to reread it, Leopold merely looked blankly at the letter intended for his younger son.

Leopold was fatigued in every way… it felt as though nothing could solace him during these times. Why, his life appears to be spiraling out of control with each passing day. Just like when small cracks appear on an old statue.

He was apprehensive about his family's future. Malcolm's Rochester Republic was something he didn't want to be a part of, and his plans to place his son Archie as Lawson's personal assistant at city hall were just another indication of their insane thirst for power. Are they still not satisfied? It appears that they already had Concordia in their possession!

It seems as if...he was the only one who could put a stop to this madness. But he has tried several times before. His brother's reactions were quite frightening. Leopold remembered trying to negotiate with Horatio, but it escalated into a furious dispute, with his elder brother seizing his collar and pushing him dangerously close to whisper a threat.

Horatio's warning still haunts him.

“Do you remember my darling wife who was once in the asylum? The one who disgraced us? I believe it would be a suitable punishment if someone like her met the same fate. I would do anything to keep this family's name alive, Leo.

"But if my 'family,' and I mean EVER, turns against me, after everything I've done to make them feared and adored, I'll make sure they gradually suffer the repercussions of their actions. Do you understand?”

The fight ended with Horatio letting go of Leopold and walking out of the room, leaving his younger brother with shock that lasted till the next day, unable to grasp what had transpired.

Leopold had not noticed the tears streaming from his eyes after recalling the unpleasant experience. Taking off his monocle, he covered his face with his hands, weeping silently in his study.

He could no longer hold out hope that his family might be mended.

#criminal case mysteries of the past #criminal case #rochesters #leopold rochester #i'll tag them all later #this is my first time posting a fic #i'll post a part two soon #fanfiction #my fic

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samanthajameswriter · 4 years

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Today’s post will be the tale of a royal exit written by guest poster Simone T. Whitlow from the blog History and Imagination. Whitlow discusses and tells the life story of Princess Sophia Dorothea and her exiting the royal family. The consequences were enormous. it is a story filled with an unhappy marriage and daring escapes.

I have taken a few shots at writing it under the auspices of a whodunit, but I don’t think there’s any doubt who the murderers are. I then had another run – this time as a faux fairytale, an OG soap opera? I had a line from John Wilmott, Earl of Rochester kicking round in my head about his patron Charles II, and thought what about riffing off that; this is an example of what a crazy, swinging place Europe’s courts were in the late 17th Century after all… but I abandoned all of these.

Then Megxit happened; The Sussexes – Harry and Meghan – announced they were leaving ‘the firm’. In some quarters there was shock, and I understand there was an urgent family meeting. Harry didn’t get thrown into a cell in the Tower of London. There was no clandestine dash for the English channel (like the aforementioned Charles II after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651). No disguising himself as a servant. No hiding in oak trees. Public discourse re-centred on whether you wished them well, or thought them a pair of spoilt brats. This brought me back round to this tale again… Imagine you’re a deeply unhappy royal, but it is 1694. Does Sophxit play out any differently?

This tale begins on the evening of July 1st, 1694. The setting, Hanover – a Germanic Duchy which would eventually be subsumed into a larger German nation, and whose first family would go on to be kind of a big deal. A young man, aided only by moonlight, sails along the Leine river till he reaches the Leineschloss – the palatial riverside home of the duke and his family. He moors his boat, then cautiously enters the property. The man is Phillipp Christoph, Count Konigsmarck – an aristocratic German born Swede from a long line of mercenaries. His father had served King Gustav II Adolph in the 30 Years War, rising through the ranks to Field Marshall. Phillipp himself had fought the Turks for Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. At this point in the tale however, he was under the employ of the Elector of Saxony. Tonight he’s been summoned to met his paramour – Sophia Dorothea, princess of Celle – the very unhappy wife of Duke George Ludwig.

Count Konigsmarck

Princess Sophia Dorothea

Duke Georg Ludwig

Sophia, though surprised- she never summoned him – is ecstatic over his arrival. They haven’t seen each other for weeks. She is also a little perturbed and angered at ‘that woman’s’ gall. “Well, clearly she’s still spying on us” I imagine one saying “Never mind, in a day we’ll be out of this nightmare” the other may have replied. With rather less poetic license you can imagine the rest of their night – Konigsmarck had not come to play solitaire after all, nor Sophia to play old maid. I like to imagine Sophia enfolding the count in her arms as he left and whispering “keep safe, hell hath no fury and all” but that is a little anachronistic – Congreve would not publish ‘The Mourning Bride’ till 1697. This is the last time Sophia Dorothea would see Count Konigsmarck – in the following hours he would disappear from the face of the Earth, never to be seen again.

Joining ‘The Firm’.

To explain how Sophia Dorothea found herself in an unhappy marriage, I need to take us back a generation. The first fact worth knowing is there was no German nation in the modern sense until January 1871. People could be ethnically Germanic, but Germany was a collection of feudal states for most of it’s history. Until 1806, they were also overseen by a ‘Holy Roman Emperor’. From 1346 the Emperor was elected by a council from the Elector states – This is important to know later. The second fact is marriages of convenience were very much a thing in the 17th Century, particularly among the aristocrats. Third, this tale concerns two duchies, Brunswick- Celle and Brunswick- Luneberg, afterwards known simply as ‘Hanover’. These duchies were ruled over by two brothers. Fourth their leading citizens of the duchies wanted to see the two areas reunited one day. Now that is out of the way…

Sophia Dorothea’s father was a man named Duke Georg Wilhelm of Brunswick- Celle. Georg W had been engaged to a princess from the neighboring duchy of Rhineland Palatinate (her name was also Sophia, though she hardly gets a mention beyond this point), but he was desperate to stay a bachelor a little longer. He cancelled the engagement – passing her on to his brother, Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick Luneberg. The leading figures of Georg W’s duchy were furious, but when Georg signed a legal agreement stating he would never marry – and would pass his duchy to Ernst, (merging the duchies) on his death, all was forgiven. Georg was not exactly out of the firm, but was free to enjoy his newly acquired freedom. The problem was Cupid laid Georg W low after he crossed paths with the beautiful Frenchwoman Eleonore d’Olbreuse.

Georg immediately knew they must marry and start a family. His own duchy and brother Ernst were unimpressed, so Georg W approached Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor for permission to marry Eleonore. Leopold gave his blessing, but many years after the fact– at this stage Georg and Eleonore had a child, Sophia Dorothea, now 10 years old. There was a caveat to Leopold’s blessing – Georg W had a daughter, Ernst a son (Georg L) – the two cousins would marry, uniting the duchies. This suited all, but the two cousins themselves, who detested each other.

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Georg Wilhelm

Eleonore d’Olbreuse.

Ernst August

Sophia Of Hanover

Complicating matters further, both Georg L and his father Ernst were openly having affairs outside of their marriages. Given what transpires it is worth mentioning Georg L’s double standards with affairs. The key fact to take on however is Ernst, Sophia’s uncle-stepdad, was involved with a lady named Countess Platen.

The Konigsmarck brothers.

We’ll come back to this lot in a second, but first let’s discuss Count Konigsmarck. He has quite a fraught backstory too. Konigsmarck was brought up at court, and knew the rest of this cast well. Both he and his brother, Karl, were sent to England in their mid teens, around 1680. They were sent off to learn courtly skills and mingle, but both brothers soon got into trouble. Phillipp’s trouble involved losing huge sums of money through gambling. Karl’s trouble was on a whole other level.

The two brothers began associating with several high society Britons- including Charles II. Karl had become smitten with Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset. Elizabeth was – you guessed it – caught in a loveless, arranged marriage to a wealthy, cheating husband – the wealthy landowner and MP Thomas Thynne. On 12th February 1682, Thynne was travelling in a carriage through Pall Mall, when three men with pistols – Christopher Vratz, John Stern and George Borosky gunned him down. The three men were captured, and named Karl Konigsmarck as the man who hired them to make the hit. The assassins would hang, Karl walked free – but both young men were outcasts in England from this point on. Both returned to Europe and joined Leopold’s army. Karl would be killed in action fighting the Turks in Greece in 1686. As an aside, not long after Thomas Thynne’s murder, a poem circulated through London.

“Here lies Tom Thynne of Longleat Hall Who ne’er would have miscarried; Had he married the woman he slept withal Or slept with the woman he married.”

Let the Dangerous Liaisons begin.

In 1688, after eight years service in the wars with the Turks, Phillipp Konigsmarck returned to the court of what was then Hanover. The ladies of the court fell for this dashing, young soldier. He became a close friend and confidant of Sophia Dorothea – a sympathetic ear who would keep tales of Sophia’s horrible husband, hideous uncle/stepdad, and terrifying mistress of uncle/stepdad – Countess Platen, confidential. Konigsmarck also began an ill advised affair with Countess Platen himself.

The young count soon realized; one, he had fallen in love with princess Sophia – and two, Countess Platen is a dangerous lunatic he should have never become involved with. He took on a new military commission and left Hanover, hoping the countess would forget about him.

On his return to the court in the spring of 1690 he began wooing the princess. The countess, meanwhile resumed her wooing of the count. When left unrequited she hired spies to follow the couple, and intercept their letters. By 1693 Countess Platen stopped even attempting to repair the broken seals on the couple’s love letters. Phillipp resumed his affair with the countess, hoping to placate her; at the very least to stop her from spilling the beans on them. Phillipp and Sophia make the decision to run away together; to start a new life elsewhere- far away from courtly life. This presented a problem for the two. Phillipp was lousy with money, and currently broke – he had not been working, while wooing two ladies. Sophia, upon marrying Georg L, ceded all her possessions to her husband.

Phillipp took a commission with the elector of Saxony, in Dresden in May 1694. Sophia sat tight and waited for Phillipp to make some money. 1st July, at the urging of a counterfeit letter, Phillipp returned to Hanover. Possibly aware it was a trap, Phillipp had saved a month’s worth of wages. Most of the court were away at their summer house at the time – Georg. L included. Tomorrow morning they would run away – and begin a new, happier life together. The following day Count Konigsmarck was nowhere to be found. A distraught Sophia Dorothea eventually hears the scuttlebutt from the markets “the witches of Dresden…” lured Phillipp away.

So…. what happened?

Let’s work through the facts – and suppositions – of the case. There are at least five possibilities. It’s generally accepted the counterfeit letter came from the countess. She had spies watching the couple, who reported to her that the couple were planning to abscond the following day. It is established fact also that Countess Platen informed her other lover, the uncle/stepdad Ernst, of the two lovers’ plan. Ernst ordered four cavaliers to arrest Count Konigsmarck immediately. The four men caught him outside the palace, swords were drawn. When the men eventually faced trial they claimed the count had drawn his sword, a fight broke out, and the count got stabbed to death in the melee.

What happened to the body? Who the hell knows? That is the real mystery. The four suspects were never on record on this matter. One theory has his body thrown into the Leine river, or immolated, or buried on the property. There was excitement in 2016 when bones were dug up on the site, but DNA proved the bones belonged to five separate men (none Phillipp) and a selection of animals.

Possibility one is simple as this, manslaughter. Count Konigsmarck, the battle hardened soldier of fortune thought he could fight his way out of an awkward situation and the four men got the better of him. It was, at most, a case of manslaughter.

Two, when Ernst August sent the cavaliers out to stop Konigsmarck, did he give the order to murder him before the elopement uncovered his dalliances, causing him embarrassment? He may have wanted him out of the way for this reason. Besides personal embarrassment, Hanover had only just been appointed an elector state, who help choose the Holy Roman Emperor. A scandal involving their royals may have jeopardized that position.

Three, well that ‘hell hath no fury’ motive is also out there. Countess Platen was jealous, and involved in high level stalking behaviour. She had laid this trap for the couple, does it not make sense to go that one step further. Did she kill Count Konigsmarck, solipsisticly to say ‘if I can’t have him, no-one can’?

Four, did Georg Ludwig know of the affair, and order the assassination? An elopement certainly would have left him a cuckold. Working counter to this, Georg L seemed unaware of the affair till after the affair was exposed. As soon as he heard, he divorced Sophia Dorothea. He exiled her to house arrest in Ahlden Castle, another family possession. She was kept prisoner until her death 32 years later. Here’s my reason to doubt Georg as the mastermind – he divorced and imprisoned her six months after Count Konigsmarck disappeared. Perhaps Georg was an endlessly patient man? I doubt it.

Now, I want to put a fifth suspect on the table – I said I would not mention her again – but I need to in order to tie this to the Sussexes at the very least. Ernst August’s wife, Sophia the elder, scorned by Georg W, and in what one would imagine as unhappy a marriage as anyone else in this tale – Her husband was cheating on her with Countess Platen after all – well she had a dream.

Discontent with her lot in life, married to a petty duke of a tiny duchy, she daydreamed of a time when herself, or her son would run the larger archipelago to the north-west. This did not seem such a crazy daydream. Her grandfather had been James I of England. In 1685 Charles II died leaving 14 illegitimate children, but no heirs. The crown passed to his brother James II, who was deposed in the ‘Glorious Rebellion’ of 1688. This saw a joint rule by James II’s daughter Mary, and the Dutch Import William of Orange. The line of succession had gotten a little complicated of late, and Sophia the elder’s daydream was seeming less and less blue sky thinking, more a genuine possibility – just so long as a giant scandal didn’t break out about her cheating husband, cheating daughter in law, and surrounding rogues gallery. I can’t count her in, but I certainly can’t ignore she too has a motive.

By 1702 both Mary and William of Orange had died. The crown passed to Mary’s sister – Anne. Anne fell pregnant 18 times – and suffered six miscarriages, five stillbirths, and none of her remaining children lived beyond two years of age. When Anne died on August 1st 1714, the crown passed to one Georg Ludwig, of an obscure German duchy, henceforth known as George I of England, whose family sit on the throne of England to this day.

How do I feel about the Sussexes and Megxit? Well, I am glad for the couple that it is 2020, not 1694 – and I wish them well.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Simone T. Whitlow is a musician, history blogger, and occasionally a squeaky wheel, working for well oiled corporate machines. Simone is based in Auckland, New Zealand and writes most weeks for Tales of History and Imagination.Tales of History and Imagination is a collection of strange and eccentric stories from our collective past. From Victorian Boogeymen to forgotten wars in far flung nations, mysterious super-weapons to people who simply took a path less traveled – Tales of History and Imagination is a compendium of the stories never told in history class.

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The Deadly Sophxit of Count Konigsmarck and Princess Sophia Dorothea Today's post will be the tale of a royal exit written by guest poster Simone T. Whitlow from the blog…

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