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1980 Cheese House killings: Difference between revisions
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Following the 3 March bombing, the [[Ministry_of_National_Security_(Urcea)#Agency_for_Domestic_Intelligence_and_Investigatory_Services|Agency for Domestic Intelligence and Investigatory Services]] took over investigation from the local police on 4 March. Hundreds of potential perpetrators were interviewed as well as every Cheese House employee, and while the ADIIS managed to determine some degree of culpability and potential cooperation in the crimes from several employees, nothing conclusive was ever determined. It was believed that employees had to be involved in the crime in some way in order to give after-hours access to the restaurant, allow for the bomb to be planted, and to facilitate the egress of the preparator from the bathroom on the 24 February killing. Many disgruntled former employees who may retain keys were also interviewed. On 29 March 1980, the ADIIS received an unmarked typed letter stained in blood reading "I've done what I've needed to do". No communication from the killer came after that point, and the letter had no additional evidence to provide. The killings ceased after this time. During the spring and summer of 1980, the ADIIS began operating on a working theory that a member of the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] clergy may have been responsible for the crimes, as investigators noticed many were able to come and go as they pleased in [[Culture of Urcea|Urcean society]] without notice. The theory suggested the killer may have blackmailed Cheese House employees using recordings of their {{wp|Sacrament of Penance|confessions}}. All priests in the province of [[Southmarch]] were interviewed but no perfect suspect arose. After following other leads, the case officially went cold in March 1981. | Following the 3 March bombing, the [[Ministry_of_National_Security_(Urcea)#Agency_for_Domestic_Intelligence_and_Investigatory_Services|Agency for Domestic Intelligence and Investigatory Services]] took over investigation from the local police on 4 March. Hundreds of potential perpetrators were interviewed as well as every Cheese House employee, and while the ADIIS managed to determine some degree of culpability and potential cooperation in the crimes from several employees, nothing conclusive was ever determined. It was believed that employees had to be involved in the crime in some way in order to give after-hours access to the restaurant, allow for the bomb to be planted, and to facilitate the egress of the preparator from the bathroom on the 24 February killing. Many disgruntled former employees who may retain keys were also interviewed. On 29 March 1980, the ADIIS received an unmarked typed letter stained in blood reading "I've done what I've needed to do". No communication from the killer came after that point, and the letter had no additional evidence to provide. The killings ceased after this time. During the spring and summer of 1980, the ADIIS began operating on a working theory that a member of the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] clergy may have been responsible for the crimes, as investigators noticed many were able to come and go as they pleased in [[Culture of Urcea|Urcean society]] without notice. The theory suggested the killer may have blackmailed Cheese House employees using recordings of their {{wp|Sacrament of Penance|confessions}}. All priests in the province of [[Southmarch]] were interviewed but no perfect suspect arose. After following other leads, the case officially went cold in March 1981. | ||
===2017 renewal of interest=== | ===2017 renewal of interest=== | ||
Though dormant for decades, the killings came to the forefront of Urcean popular culture briefly during the summer of 2017. Popular social media user [[Lucás Atri]] rose to prominence around that time, and his [[Thinkpages]] avatar was a photo of a Cheese House taken shortly after the chain closed. Although the photo had been his profile picture since 2012, Atri's new prominence | Though dormant for decades, the killings came to the forefront of Urcean popular culture briefly during the summer of 2017. Popular social media user [[Lucás Atri]] rose to prominence around that time, and his [[Thinkpages]] avatar was a photo of a Cheese House taken shortly after the chain closed. Although the photo had been his profile picture since 2012, Atri's new prominence led to many social media users looking into the case themselves, becoming a popular sensation. Slogans like "Who Cheesed Them?" became popular memes on social media and appeared on t-shirts, posters, and other marketable items. The [[Ministry_of_National_Security_(Urcea)#Agency_for_Domestic_Intelligence_and_Investigatory_Services|ADIIS]] reported receiving more than a hundred thousand calls on the case between June and August 2017, with many false leads or tips involved although a majority of the calls were individuals looking for more information. Atri was interviewed by the ADIIS but was found to not be associated with the crimes in any way, with police reports indicating he "just found the idea of a Cheese House funny". A movie about the killings and investigations were made but were subject to multiple rounds of revisions by [[Censor (Urcea)|the office of the Censor]] due to gratuitous and ahistorical gore scenes. The series was finally launched in late August 2017. | ||
==Restaurant closures== | ==Restaurant closures== | ||
Public fear about attending restaurants - despite many of the killings seeming to be connected or planned - dramatically reduced the business done by Cheese House restaurants. A number of them attempted to rebrand as the Curd Shop with only limited success, and all locations were unprofitable by 1981. The chain closed in 1982 and most of its locations were demolished with their land being sold to [[NoWaiter]] for expansion in the city. One Cheese House location, the location on 1485 Bosco Turnpike, remained in dilapidated state until 2019. Despite numerous attempts by the Castlelow police to inform the public that no murders had taken place there and it was the only "clean" Cheese House, the structure was broken into multiple times during the summer of 2017 as a result of renewal of interest in the murders. | Public fear about attending restaurants - despite many of the killings seeming to be connected or planned - dramatically reduced the business done by Cheese House restaurants. A number of them attempted to rebrand as the Curd Shop with only limited success, and all locations were unprofitable by 1981. The chain closed in 1982 and most of its locations were demolished with their land being sold to [[NoWaiter]] for expansion in the city. One Cheese House location, the location on 1485 Bosco Turnpike, remained in dilapidated state until 2019. Despite numerous attempts by the Castlelow police to inform the public that no murders had taken place there and it was the only "clean" Cheese House, the structure was broken into multiple times during the summer of 2017 as a result of renewal of interest in the murders. | ||