Clues by Sam Jul 13, 2026 Answer – Full Solution Explained

01.A4 · Paul → CRIMINAL

Xavi's clue says there are no innocents in the overlap of row 4 and column A. That overlap is just A4 Paul, and there are already 0 known innocents there. So the only person in that shared spot cannot be innocent. That makes Paul criminal.

02.D3 · Olive → CRIMINAL

To the right of Jerry there are exactly two criminals. Among those two, exactly one is a neighbor of Ghani, and the only people there who are Ghani's neighbors are Larry and Mary. So the other criminal to Jerry's right must be someone there who is not Ghani's neighbor. In that group, the only person to the right of Jerry who is not Ghani's neighbor is Olive, and there are no already known criminals in that spot. So Olive must be criminal.

03.D1 · Evie → INNOCENT

Above Zulu, the clue says there are exactly two criminals there, and those two must be orthogonally connected. Olive is already one of those criminals. That means the other criminal above Zulu has to be next to Olive, so it can only be Ivan or Susan. Evie is not next to Olive in that line, so Evie cannot be that second criminal. So Evie must be innocent.

04.C3 · Mary → INNOCENT

Evie's clue says there is exactly one innocent to the right of Larry. Among the people to the right of Larry, there are currently no known innocents, and the only person there whose identity is still unknown is Mary. So the one innocent that the clue requires has to be Mary. That makes Mary innocent.

05.B3 · Larry → CRIMINAL

To Jerry's right, there must be exactly two criminals. In that group, exactly one of the criminals is a neighbor of Ghani, and among the people there who are Ghani's neighbors, Mary is innocent and Larry is the only unknown person left. So the one criminal neighbor of Ghani in Jerry's right-hand group has to be Larry. That makes Larry criminal.

06.A3 · Jerry → INNOCENT

Mary's clue says row 3 contains exactly 2 innocents. In that row, Mary is already known to be innocent, while Larry and Olive are criminals, so row 3 still needs exactly 1 more innocent. The only person in row 3 whose identity is not yet known is Jerry. So Jerry must be innocent.

07.D5 · Zulu → CRIMINAL

Above Zulu are Evie, Ivan, Olive, and Susan, and among them there must be exactly two criminals who are connected. In column D, the total number of criminals must be odd, and right now that column has one known criminal, Olive, with only Ivan, Susan, and Zulu still unknown. If Zulu were innocent, then Ivan and Susan would be the only people left to make both clues work at once, but they cannot do that. So Zulu cannot be innocent. That makes Zulu criminal.

08.B4 · Quita → CRIMINAL

Zulu’s clue says that Quita is one of the exactly 3 criminals below Carol. That statement directly includes Quita among those criminals below Carol. So Quita must be criminal.

09.B1 · Carol → INNOCENT

Zulu’s clue says Quita is one of exactly 3 criminals below Carol. Below Carol are Ghani, Larry, Quita, and Vera, and Larry and Quita are already known criminals, so Carol’s clue fixes a very tight requirement on that column. Now test the opposite of the target: suppose Carol were a criminal. With Quita’s clue that every column has at least 2 innocents, the remaining unknown people named here would then have to satisfy both that column requirement and Zulu’s exact count below Carol at the same time, but they cannot. So Carol at B1 must be innocent.

10.C1 · Denis → INNOCENT

Carol’s clue says exactly one of the two cooks has an innocent directly above them. Hazel is a cook and has Denis directly above her, so Hazel’s case depends on Denis being innocent. The only remaining cook who can make the clue’s “one cook” condition happen is Denis, so Denis has to be innocent. So Denis must be innocent.

11.A1 · Betty → INNOCENT

Denis’s clue says row 2 is the only row with exactly one criminal. In row 1, there are currently no known criminals, and Betty is the only person there whose identity is not yet fixed. If Betty were criminal, then row 1 would end up with exactly one criminal too, which would break the clue. So Betty must be innocent.

12.B2 · Ghani → INNOCENT, C2 · Hazel → INNOCENT

Denis says row 2 is the only row with exactly one criminal, so row 2 must end with exactly one criminal. Betty also says all innocents in row 2 are connected. If Ghani and Hazel were both criminals, then the remaining people tied up in these clues would have to make all of those row requirements fit at the same time, and that cannot be done. So Ghani and Hazel cannot both be criminals. That makes Ghani and Hazel innocent.

13.A5 · Umar → INNOCENT

14.B5 · Vera → CRIMINAL

Zulu’s clue says Quita is one of exactly 3 criminals below Carol. Below Carol are Ghani, Larry, Quita, and Vera, and among them Ghani is innocent while Larry and Quita are already known criminals. If Vera were innocent too, then there would be only 2 criminals below Carol, which conflicts with the clue that there are exactly 3. So Vera must be criminal.

15.C4 · Raul → INNOCENT, D4 · Susan → INNOCENT

Umar’s clue says rows 3 and 4 have the same number of innocents. Row 3 already has 2 innocents, while row 4 currently has none. If Raul and Susan were both criminals, row 4 would stay at 0 innocents, which clashes with the clue that it must match row 3’s 2 innocents. So Raul and Susan must be innocent.

16.D2 · Ivan → CRIMINAL

Above Zulu, the people are Evie, Ivan, Olive, and Susan. The clue says both criminals above Zulu are connected, so there must be exactly two criminals in that group and they must form one orthogonally connected pair. Evie and Susan are innocent, and Olive is already a criminal. If Ivan were innocent too, then above Zulu there would be only one criminal there, Olive, which conflicts with the clue saying both criminals above Zulu. So Ivan cannot be innocent. That makes Ivan at D2 criminal.

17.A2 · Freya → INNOCENT

Denis’s clue says row 2 is the only row with exactly one criminal. In row 2, Ivan is already the one known criminal, while Ghani and Hazel are innocent and Freya is the only person there not yet identified. If Freya were criminal, then row 2 would have two criminals instead of exactly one, which breaks Denis’s clue. So Freya at A2 must be innocent.