User blog comment:1dra7/Murder in the Dark Puzzle/@comment-3220924-20121102011400

I GOT IT BBY.

The decoded message is: COCO IS DEAD BUT THE SPIDER IS NOT.

I figured that out by using a vigenere cipher. The key word was "Coco."

This means that the red splatter thing on the map that I thought was a crab is actually a spider. One type of spider is a black widow, which can also be associated with the room "The Widow's Peak." This means, Coco was killed in the Widow's Peak, which means she was also killed with a knife.

I then examined the compass. Like Zac, I noticed that the W and the S were a different shade of red, so they had to be important. Then I realized that the W and the S are the initials of Wes Salvado, so he must be the killer.

Finally, I examined the rest of the compass and noticed that the N and the S must stand for something. I noticed that the N was in the place of 12 and the S was in the place of 3 if it were a real clock. On a clock it means 12:15, so that must have been the time Coco was murdered.

So... I'll take my prize now. ;)
 * Who -  Wes Salvador.
 * When - 12:15.
 * What With - A knife.
 * Why - Because Coco gave him a bad reputation.
 * Where- In the Widow's Peak.