Three Hotta Siblings Murder Case

Episode 44 (Int. Episode {{{int-episode}}})
Information
Title:	Three Hotta Brothers Murder Case
Original airdate:	January 20, 1997
Season:	2
English version
English title:	Unhappy Birthday
Case
Cast:	Conan Edogawa Ran Mouri Kogoro Mouri
Case solved by:	Kogoro Mouri (via Conan)
Staff
Director:	Kenji Kodama
Screenplay:	Yuuichi Higurashi
Storyboard:	Hirohito Ochi
Episode director:	Hirohito Ochi
Animation director:	Haruo Ogawara
Chronology
Prev episode:	« Conan Edogawa Kidnapping Case
Next episode:	Facial Mask Murder Case »
List of episodes

Cast

Characters
Conan Edogawa Kogoro Mouri Ran Mouri

Case

Situation

Bombing

Location: Hotta household Victim: Kousaku Hotta A lazy drive through the country lands Kogoro, Ran, and Conan in the middle of a murder mystery surrounding the death of billionaire industrialist, Kousaku Hotta. As Conan tries to unravel the clues before the killer can strike again, he faces one disturbing reality: The prime suspects are the victim's children?! It's an explosive whodunit you won't want to miss!

People

Kosaku Hotta
	Victim (explosion) 58 years old President of Hotta Heavy Industries

Masahiro Yamauchi
	55 years old Caretaker of mansion

Koichi Hotta
	39 years old Kousaku's eldest son

Harumi Hotta
	36 years old Kouichi's wife

Ryoji Hotta
	28 years old Kousaku's second son

Fumiko Hotta
	30 years old Kousaku's eldest daughter

Resolution

  Show spoilers »

The killer was... none of the Hottas. It was Yamauchi, whose son was a deceased piano player. When he and Fumiko got in a relationship and Hotta Sr. objected, they tried to convince him otherwise, but in reply Hotta broke the younger Yamauchi's hand which left him unable to play anymore. The younger Yamauchi fell into despair and killed himself by driving into a nearby cliff. His father then became the family butler only to get revenge, preparing the bomb that killed Hotta Sr..

Yamauchi had also planned to kill Fumiko by tampering with her car, mistakenly thinking that she had rejected his son after the incident. In reality, Fumiko was very traumatised as well: she showed it by dressing in black like a widow and wearing a pendant with a photo of her lost love. Fortunately, Yamauchi's trap failed and she returned to the mansion, making Yamauchi break down in tears for misjudging her.

See also

• Season 2