Joe Darke

Joe Darke was a businessman who killed several people in 2015. This incident was known as the SL-9 Incident in police files. He was wrongfully convicted and executed for the murder of one of the victims, Neil Marshall, through fake evidence. The real killer was arrested for Marshall's murder two years later.

The killings

 * Main article: SL-9 Incident

On his way home, Joe Darke accidentally hit a man with his car, killing him. Out of paranoia, he killed a man who witnessed the accident. An elderly lady witnessed this murder, and Darke killed her as well. A child and a jogger soon passed by to their deaths as they saw the bodies of the victims. A special police team investigated these killings and believed that Darke was the killer, but they lacked the decisive evidence needed for conviction.

Perhaps feeling guilty about his crimes, Darke turned himself into the police, where Chief Detective Damon Gant and Prosecutor Neil Marshall brought him into questioning. During questioning, a thunderstorm blew out the power, allowing the renegade Darke to escape. He ran into the shared office of Gant and Detective Lana Skye, where he found Lana's younger sister Ema Skye. When Marshall arrived, Darke held her hostage and threatened to kill her. Marshall and Darke fought, and Marshall knocked Darke unconscious with his recently earned King of Prosecutors Trophy. When Darke woke up, Marshall was dead, and he was arrested for his murder.

Wrongful conviction

 * Main article: Rise from the Ashes

Joe Darke was put on trial against Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, and he was convicted and sentenced to death. He was later executed. However, it turned out, two years later, that the evidence used to convict him had been faked. When a detective was killed and Lana Skye put on trial for the murder, defense attorney Phoenix Wright and prosecutor Edgeworth eventually exposed Gant as the true killer of both the detective's death and Marshall's death two years before. Gant had become desperate to get a conviction for Darke and, having insufficient evidence for the murders Darke had actually committed, he had taken matters into his own hands.

Name

 * The name "Darke" probably refers to Darke's frightening nature and the shadowy nature of the SL-9 Incident, making him a shadowy figure from the past.


 * The Japanese name "Aokage" means "pale shadow", likely in reference to his light hair and skin tone.


 * The French name "Sinister" also reflects the nature of the incident and of Darke himself.


 * His initals are J.D., an abbreviation shared by "John Doe", a term used by detectives to describe an unknown person. The name "John Doe" would later be used as the cover name for Shelly de Killer.

Development

 * This character is not encountered in-game, although he is an important part of the plot, akin to Ami Fey. He appears in the court record with his face obscured by shadow, but with unobscured features in flashbacks.