The Crown Killer



"You see? Wickedness is her master, yet she is driven by purpose, following a perverse plan."

- The Heart

The Crown Killer is the moniker given to a serial killer terrorizing Karnaca and Dunwall in the years of Empress Emily Kaldwin's reign.

The name "The Crown Killer" refers to the fact that the murderer targets political enemies of Emily. Killing the most vocal opponents to his daughter's reign, many speculate that the Crown Killer is Corvo Attano; some even claim that Emily herself is the Killer. Corvo tells Emily that the Crown Killer is trying to make Emily look guilty by targeting her enemies.

Biography
In reality, the Crown Killer is Grim Alex, renowned alchemist and physician Alexandria Hypatia under the influence of a toxic compound. While Hypatia herself is not aware of the Crown Killer's identity or actions, the Killer does have all of Alexandria's memories.

The Crown Killer was accidentally created when Hypatia tested an early version of a serum, intended to heal the silver mine workers, on herself. Although her lungs were cleared, the serum had a side effect – complete loss of empathy and a hunger for human flesh. This serum gave birth to Hypatia's split personality Grim Alex. Eventually, Duke Luca Abele found out about Hypatia's condition and began to use Grim Alex as a pawn in his plans. Grim Alex was regularly sent to various locations in Karnaca and Dunwall to eliminate political enemies of Emily Kaldwin, the last being Ichabod Boyle. The Dunwall Courier started calling the mysterious murderer "The Crown Killer". During the coup at Dunwall Tower, Emily Kaldwin and Corvo Attano are openly blamed for being, or at least conspiring with, the Crown Killer by Delilah Copperspoon.

Some time before the killing of Ichabod Boyle, Grim Alex was tasked by the Duke to kidnap Anton Sokolov, who had started to unravel the conspiracy against Emily. Grim Alex entered the Dreadful Wale, the boat Sokolov was located on and kidnapped him, bringing him to Addermire Institute for a while before handing him over to Kirin Jindosh.

Soon after, Grim Alex attacked and mortally wounded Hypatia's assistant, Doctor Bartholomeus Vasco.

Dishonored 2
Either Corvo or Emily is forced to deal with Grim Alex in the mission The Good Doctor. When Hypatia is found, attacking her, possessing her, mesmerizing her, listening to her assistant Vasco or an audiograph triggers her transformation into Grim Alex, who will then search for the protagonist in the recuperation area. Grim Alex can either be killed or cured from her condition.

Trivia

 * The known political victims of the Crown Killer are:
 * Correy Brockburn, an entrepreneur in Karnaca and member of the Regenters.
 * Janice Tines, Opinions Editor at the Karnaca Gazette and member of the Regenters.
 * Horace Millhouse, senior member of the Parliament.
 * Ichabod Boyle, head of Boyle Industries.
 * Some graffiti found throughout Karnaca warns that "The Crown Killer is watching".
 * A Sokolov painting of Grim Alex can be found in the Clockwork Mansion's Assessment Chamber.
 * The Heart says that the Crown Killer identifies herself as "Grim Alex"; Sokolov's painting of her also refers to her as such.
 * Vasco also claims that Hypatia called herself "Grim Alex" when first succumbing to her faulty cure.
 * Grim Alex is immune to Possession and Mesmerize.
 * If Hypatia is possessed before being cured, Grim Alex will comment on how she enjoys sharing Hypatia's body with a third person.
 * Bloodflies do not attack Grim Alex.
 * If Hypatia is viewed with Dark Vision before or after her transformation, in addition to her vision cone she possesses a smell radius similar to that of wolfhounds, which functions in the same respect while she is in her Crown Killer form.
 * It is impossible to render Grim Alex unconscious; the only way to subdue her non-lethally is to inject her with the counter-serum.
 * If Grim Alex is killed with the sword, a special animation plays. The protagonist knocks her down with a leg sweep, then climbs on top of her, causing her to thrash and claw violently at their face. They push her arms out of the way, then stab her through the side of the head.