Kill Bill redux

[bonanova]

Now, what was it we were talking about? Oh yes ... wherrzzz Beeel? I'll tell you. You know why I tell you? Because Bill would want me to. But this time the old man was not talking to the impossibly gorgeous Beatrix Michelle Kiddo. It was to a guy. A guy who was on a mission to kill Bill. A guy with the name of Al, Jack, Joe or Tom. Which one? Well, it's your job to determine which.

Here's what we know from police interviews that followed the discovery of Bill's cold body on a lonely stretch of country road late last night, along with the fatal gun that belonged to one of them ... the murderer. So read on and see where the evidence leads. But fair warning, exactly half of each of the suspects' four statements are lies.

• Al:
  I didn't do it.
  Tom did it.
  Sure I own a gun.
  Joe and I were playing poker last night when Bill was shot.
   
• Jack:
  I didn't do it.
  Al did it.
  Joe and I were at the movies last night when Bill was shot.
  Bill was shot with Joe's gun.
   
• Joe:
  I was asleep when Bill was shot.
  Al lied when he said that Tom killed Bill.
  Jack is the only one of us who owns a gun.
  Tom and Bill were pals.
   
• Tom:
  I've never fired a gun in my life.
  I don't know who did it.
  Joe doesn't own a gun.
  I never saw Bill until they showed me the body.

Who was the rat who done poor Bill in?

[flamebirde]

Is the owner of the gun automatically the murderer?

  Reveal hidden contents

It was Joe

Initial assumption: If Bill was shot with Joe's gun then that makes Joe the killer. Therefore, if we assume this statement to be true, then Jack didn't kill Bill, making that statement true as well, making the other two false.

Jack's statements:

Jack:
I didn't do it. True - assumption.
Al did it. False - by process of elimination.
Joe and I were at the movies last night when Bill was shot. False - by process of elimination.
Bill was shot with Joe's gun. True - assumption.

Now onto Joe's statements:

Joe:
I was asleep when Bill was shot. False - he had to be awake to shoot Bill.
Al lied when he said that Tom killed Bill. True - Joe killed Bill, not Tom.
Jack is the only one of us who owns a gun. False - Joe owns a gun, the one used to kill Bill.
Tom and Bill were pals.True by process of elimination.

And for Tom?

Tom:
I've never fired a gun in my life. True - by process of elimination.
I don't know who did it. True - by process of elimination.
Joe doesn't own a gun. False - Joe shot Bill with his own gun.
I never saw Bill until they showed me the body False - Tom and Bill were pals.

Lastly, Al:

Al:
I didn't do it. True - Joe did it.
Tom did it. False - Joe did it.
Sure I own a gun. True - by process of elimination.
Joe and I were playing poker last night when Bill was shot. False - Joe could not have played poker at the same time as shooting Bill.

 

[bonanova]

@flamebirde Yes. The gun’s owner did the deed. Implied but not stated. Good catch. 

[mtngoat]

  On 6/27/2019 at 10:33 PM, bonanova said:

The gun’s owner did the deed. Implied but not stated.

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But unless the problem has been edited, it is stated:  "along with the fatal gun that belonged to one of them ... the murderer." But not absolutely necessary for the solve.

 

[bonanova]

  On 8/29/2019 at 1:05 AM, mtngoat said:

But unless the problem has been edited, it is stated:  "along with the fatal gun that belonged to one of them ... the murderer." But not absolutely necessary for the solve.

 

Expand  

Hmmm. I hadn't considered that. Is there a different solution if the murderer did not own the murder weapon?