murder weapons always discoverable?

[General Chaos]

Finally solved my first murder. I even found a receipt for a hunting knife in the killer's trash but the weapon was not in their apartment, the victim's, nor their workplace. I also thought maybe they dumped it in the dumpster outside their apartment, but nothing. Is it sometimes the case the weapon is just not possible to find?

[El Burro]

Honestly, in 13 hours of playtime, I've found the murder weapon a total of once. And it was on the killer that i found by "accidentally" knocking them out.

[Esca]

In my experience, the killers are usually still carrying the weapon. If you haven't been searching them, arrest them and then press F to look at whatever they're carrying, similar to how trash cans work. You might need to stand behind them to get the option, if it's not showing up.

[General Chaos]

Ah, I was probably overthinking things. Not sure I even considered looking on the killer. Thanks!

[davinewrath]

It's not always on their person though - I've had them be carrying items that fit the profile of the murder weapon, but not get a tick in the box after submitting my case after I selected them as evidence.

[Bluehawk]

In one case the weapon was a knife in the killer's possession; in another case, it was a shotgun they had propped against a window in their apartment.

[SlaveToTheNuggets]

Be careful, I could be wrong but the Innocent might also be able to pickup the murder weapons or just have one on them. For example, I had a case where a murder happened close-by (Literally only a 30 second sprint) so I got there quick. The security doors were already closed by the time I got there so I assumed noone could get in nor out, so I waited. By the time they opened there was only one person on the crimescene, whom initially tried to sprint away. That made me extremely suspicious so I handcuffed them before they got too far (Had to chase), combined with the fact they had their prints on everything in the apartment. I searched them and found [A] murder weapon, so I examined the corpse and the wound matches. I decided to explore more and discovered that the victim and the suspect lived together, which I then inferred that they're in a relationship since it was a 1-bed apartment. I then assumed it was them because why would you carry the weapon your spouse was killed by, as well as you being the only one on the scene, AND There were noone elses' prints in the entire apartment besides yours and the spouses? All signs pointed to them, but lo behold, I failed the case. I definitely missed something.

So either:
- the murderer escaped before the blast doors shut and the spouse thought it was a good idea and picked up the weapon.
- The murderer escaped and the spouse convienently had a weapon that matched their spouses' murder weapon on them for some reason? (Most likely)
- They were in on it, and the real culprit escaped (Idk if the game has that yet)
- Or the game bugged in some way (Highly likely from what I've read)

But that raises the question, why would a psycho murder someone AND leave a witness? Why can't I ask a witness for info after I handcuff them? Can murderers escape through vents/windows? Did they somehow bug through a wall (I saw it happen once). I aint too sure, the case is cold by now. But be wary of innocent folks carrying weapons, otherwise you make a rookie mistake like me.