Velma Bannister is a recurring villainess from Criminal Case: Pacific Bay, the 2nd season of the crime solving game Criminal Case. She appeared in case #34, "Murdertown" (release date December 11, 2014) and case #38, "Dead Carpet" (release date January 15, 2015).
Murdertown[]
Velma was among the first questioned during "Murdertown", as the victim was Velma's estranged stepdaughter, Lindsay Bannister. During her interrogation, Velma openly admitted to the animosity between her and Lindsay (namely due to them being the same age) and effectively seduced detective Frank Knight with her beauty and charm.
Midway through the case, the conniving Velma seduced Frank into eloping with her, doing so to help avoid suspicions in Lindsay's murder case. Frank and Velma were eventually found by the player and Amy Young and Velma was questioned again, claiming to be in love with Frank. But once she learned that Frank resigned from the police force to elope with her, Velma was furious, revealing her true reason for eloping with Frank. Despite all this, however, Velma still assured the player that she was innocent in her stepdaughter's murder.
Velma was ultimately cleared in Lindsay's murder, but later on, it was revealed that Velma conspired with antique dealer Rico Damascus to steal a rare diamond. Rico was exposed when private investigator Eduardo Ramirez managed to get a photograph of him with the diamond, and Rico revealed Velma as his cohort by leading the detectives to the movie set, where the diamond was found in Velma's purse. As Frank arrested Velma, the seductive villainess boasted about how she'd easily manipulated Rico to steal the diamond for her and how her husband Hubert wouldn't tolerate her being in prison--a sentiment proven when Hubert later posted his wife's bail.
Dead Carpet[]
Velma was once again questioned by the player and Amy after director Tyler Snakes was found poisoned to death at the Ivywood Awards Theater on the day of the Ivywood Film Awards ceremony, an event Tyler was the supervisor and producer of and one which Ivywood's infamous cult "The Utopians" planned to use to brainwash the attendees with a specially made movie. A seductive photo of Velma was found near Tyler's body, with a message on it showing that Velma was trying to seduce Tyler into being her date for the ceremony. Upon questioning, Velma claimed that, while she was upset by Tyler's death, she had to prepare for the awards ceremony nonetheless.
Later on, Frank once again disappeared due to Velma's seduction, her having called him threatening to kill herself, claiming that Tyler insulted her when she asked him to attend the awards show with him. But later on, with the help of police profiler Russell Crane, Velma was discovered to have killed Tyler and was brought in for interrogation. While she initially wanted to remain silent until Hubert's lawyer arrived, Russell eventually goaded Velma into confessing to killing Tyler, proclaiming that her motive had nothing to do with his rejection of her. Instead, Velma revealed that she had poisoned Tyler's cigarettes so she could gain access to the award show's TV room and broadcast her own brainwashing tape, made for her by fellow Utopian cult member Trevor Neuman.
After the Utopians' brainwashing plot was halted, Velma stood trial for her attempting brainwashing scheme and her murder of Tyler, during which the evil Velma defended her status as a self-proclaimed femme fatale and how she had wanted to brainwash Ivywood so they would always admire her beauty and charms, seeing her failure to seduce Tyler as proof that her abilities were fading with her age. Velma was ultimately sentenced by judge Edward Dante to eighteen years in prison for her self-serving crimes.
Quotes[]
- "Femme fatale means hard work, Your Honor. Having to charm and seduce people for the smallest thing you want. And it gets harder as you get older. Especially in Ivywood, where there's always someone younger and more beautiful than you. Tyler made me realize my powers were fading. So when I heard other Utopians talking about the power of brainwashing, I instantly decided I wanted it for myself! (Edward: "You wanted to brainwash people? What for?") I wanted people to obey me! To worship my immortal beauty! To love me forever and ever! This is what everyone wants in Ivywood! That's why we all want to be famous!" (Velma's rant about why she wanted to brainwash all of Ivywood during her trial)